Last Sunday (April 4, 2011), the first ever New York City Vegetarian Food Festival was held to celebrate cruelty- free food. The event was organized by Sarah Gross, founderof Rescue Chocolate, and Nira Paliwoda. Both entrepreneurs and foodies, they realized that no single event existed to bring together the range of conscientious eaters in the New York City area. The festival was a gigantic hit with thousands of people showing up and waiting in line for more than two hours to get into the Altman Building where it was held in Manhattan.
The festival illustrated the wide variety of plant-based foods and products available in the marketplace. Vendors provided free samples in the event while several vegan restaurants provided food for sale outside of the event. The festival literally took over several blocks - the line stretched from the middle of 18th Street to 7th Avenue to 19th Street and around the corner back to 6th Avenue. Those that waited for entry were greeted with world-class speakers, live music, and fun food contests throughout the day in addition to the vast array of vegan food samples.
The event was sponsored by such organizations as PETA, Rescue Chocolate, Balance, Gilda Mulero, HappyCow and Yelp - to name a few. I had a chance to talk with Chef Cindi Avila, Victoria Moran and Dr. Rob Streisfeld (aka Doc Rob), three of the speakers at the festival.
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