Impressions from Vegan Summerfest 2016, Ghent

A couple of weeks ago, Belgian organisation BE Vegan organised the second edition of Vegan Summerfest. We went to the first edition in 2015 (see our post here) and surely did not want to miss it!
This year, the festival was in the Artcube in Ghent, where BE Vegan had also hosted a talk by Jo-An McArthur last Winter (see blogpost here). A more spacious venue than last year, with more room inside and outside.

Vegan Summerfest 2016, Artcube, Ghent

Vegan Summerfest, Artcube, Ghent, main hall

The other hall with stalls (it was pretty dark there … , sorry, no decent photo!)

We went early to avoid the big crowd as much as possible and to secure a parking spot nearby (by the time we left early afternoon, people were already parked several blocks away from the venue). The foodtrucks were outside and inside were two halls with stalls of organisations like Bite Back, Animal Rights, and also several shops selling shoes, books, food and cosmetics. With benches to sit down and relax a while. During the afternoon, there were some talks in yet another hall. Would have loved to hear Ruby Roth‘s ‘Vegan is Love‘ talk (via Skype), but that was scheduled for the late afternoon. It would have been nice to have some more variety in the talks, with for example info on veganism and sport, veganism and health, or about intersectionality (like at the upcoming intersectionality conference at VegFest in London).

There was more variety in the stalls than last year and it was great to get to know some new products and bussinesses! It was difficult to choose what to eat, so much choice! 🙂 Should have thought about bringing some storage boxes with us, to take some goodies home with us (remember to do that next year!)

These are some of the things we had:

wrap from Makadam Foodtruck

The Dutch weedburger

Desserts from Chez Mariette, vegan Summerfest

bought some cupcakes to take home for tea

bought some cupcakes home, for tea, from Heavenly Cupcakes

bread and ‘cheese’, Tyne Cheese

bough this fine selection of vegan cheezes, from Charly’s all is Fair

fridge magnet: 100% vegan, bought from Go veg Vegan shop, Liège

fridge magnet: vegan only! It’s a fridge, not a cemetary, bought from Go veg Vegan shop, Liège

Chocolates, from Chocolatier Confiserie Jonas.

Despite the venue being bigger than last year, it still felt a bit crowded and cramped for space at times. Of course the huge turn out is fantastic! And being a free festival means there’s a low treshold for people who are interested to come take a look and for vegans to bring non-vegan friends along. Having to pay an entrance fee would probably deter some people from coming, but it on the other hand, it would allow to look for a more accessible and spacious venue. Maybe something to consider?

here are some more impressions:

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Looking forward to many more editions!

Vegan Summerfest – Belgium
August 21, 2016
Hosted by BE VEGAN
at Artcube, Ghent (location)

http://vegansummerfest.be/