Vegan Fest comes to Birmingham

Ned Freeman, one of the organizers of Birmingham Vegans, said he fully expects that most of the people who come to the inaugural Alabama Vegan Fest on Sunday, April 14, will not be vegan. 

“While we are excited about people who are totally on the vegan train, we really are most excited about people who are ‘veg-curious’ and are looking to see all the interesting things served,” Freeman said, adding that vegan describes people who do not eat or use animal products.

Ever since the Birmingham Vegans first began as a Meetup group and then a Facebook group five and half years ago, Freeman said they’ve been talking about creating a vegan festival. After Freeman met Desare Flournoy, owner of the Huntsville-based company Elegance On Any Budget, the two organizations decided to team up with local eatery Tropicaleo to create Birmingham’s first statewide vegan festival. 

The family-friendly event includes about 40 food vendors, mostly from Birmingham-based restaurants and chefs, Freeman said, in addition to some health products and cruelty-free makeup and cosmetic lines. It will take place from 1-5 p.m. in the Tropicaleo parking lot, store and back patio, where there will be food demos and speakers, including Birmingham Vegan group creator Greg Fuller.

All the utensils and paper products at the fest will be fully recyclable, and the free event is rain or shine. The Birmingham Vegan group meets informally every week for lunches or potlucks. Stay tuned on their social media page for time updates in case of rain at facebook.com/bhamvegans.