The second I heard of SoCal Vegfest, I knew I wanted to participate. Most major vegan events are usually in Los Angeles, so I was very excited to find an event local to me. I was able to visit with some of my favorite vegan businesses and was exposed to many others!
First discovery was I Love Vegan a vegan Thai restaurant from Long Beach. They had a couple of dishes available but we were intrigued by the Thai iced tea. It did not disappoint. Looking forward to visiting their restaurant. Last time I tried to find vegan options in Long Beach, I didn’t have too much luck, so I’m happy to see I Love Vegan is there! (I also noticed that they deliver, so that’s awesome for the Long Beachers!)
There were about 5 food trucks there, & even though I’ve been to Sage Organic Vegan Bistro before their Jackfruit Nachos were calling my name.
Absolutely delicious.
The turn out for SoCal Vegfest was incredible. Lines were long but (for the lines I was in) they went quickly.
Plant Food For People was right next door to Sage so we ate our nachos while we waited in line for some tacos. (We’re smart vegan cookies.)
We had two jackfruit carnitas tacos with coleslaw & chipotle mayo & two jackfruit tacos with tomatillo & chipotle mayo. So flavorful and delicious. It was a jackfruit kind of day.
& Keith had the spicy torta. Yield the warnings for spiciness. He knew I wouldn’t be able to tolerate a bite, but he enjoyed it!
There were also MANY vendors with free samples and products for sale. Dropped by Field Roast to try out their new Chao Slices. I tried the Coconut Herb with Black Pepper & I liked it! I had it cold, but I would probably prefer it melted. More of a reason to pick it up at the store.
For the longest time, I’ve wanted to try Donut Friend. (Check out their Instagram and you can see why.) So I was excited to see that they were at SoCal Vegfest. I wasn’t excited to see the LONG line that came with it. We decided to come back to the booth when the line got shorter. The line got shorter when they were sold out. ::womp womp:: Just a reason to head to their LA storefront and check them out there!
I was really happy to see Uncle Eddie’s Vegan Cookies. It is very safe to say that their cookies are my absolute favorite. Keith & I got to try some flavors that aren’t distributed locally to us, so we were super excited. We got to try the Trail Mix Cookie & the Molasses Cookie. & of course bought both bags. (Fear not, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, you will always have a place in my heart.)
Conveniently, Beanfields Snacks was right next door. I absolute LOVE their nacho flavored chips. (I even had some today!) I call them vegan Doritos but they’re way more healthy and way more delicious. The chips really do it for me when I get that cheese craving. They were offering free samples so I “tried” the nacho flavor. 😉 But I also tried some of their other flavors. I also really liked the Pico De Gallo & Salt N’ Pepper.
Not only was there food at SoCal Vegfest, but there was cooking demos, yoga, music, speakers & food contents. Another fun thing was apparel! I did so some window shopping for Christmas. Isn’t ^^this tank^^ adorable!?
I was happy to see Beet x Beet at the event. I’ve been pinning some of their products to my Pinterest, so it was nice to see the products in person. They recently celebrated their one year anniversary, so it’s great to see this young company doing so well! (& you can see why when you visit their site. Really love Plant Based Party & In Plants We Trust.)
Love it.
I was also VERY happy to see Herbivore Clothing. ^^See?^^ See how happy I am?
I absolutely fell in love with this Vegan Pizza Strong Baseball Tee. LOVE. Keith & I make it a point to have pizza on a weekly basis. I mean, why not? Tradition make people happy. It is now my goal on one of these Friday nights, I will wear this shirt to dinner. (Also, I didn’t realize my second favorite shirt is right next to it, King Koala Tee!)
Josh, co-owner of Herbivore, sensed my vegan pizza happiness and generously gave me a “Vegan Pizza Strong” sticker. Very thankful, Josh. I am finding the perfect place to stick it!
Notably, I also got Ellovi’s Butter & Tinted Lip Butter. These products were suggested to me from Tashina from Logical Harmony. Check out her review of the butter to learn more about it! I’m excited to give my own review soon.
Also, SoCal VegFest’s program had A LOT of local vegan meetups listed. (Let me know if you’re interested & I’ll post the list!) So I really appreciate SoCal Vegfest’s efforts to bring together the local (vegan) community on the day of & for the future. This event just made my vegan bubble a lot bigger & I really appreciate their efforts to expose a vegan lifestyle.
Thank you, SoCal Vegfest & participates!
– Christina