Vegan food festival returns for 4th year

By Sarah Marren
Posted 8/28/19

While the idea for the Hudson Valley Vegan Food Festival once started as a small cookout in 2016 to bring together the Hudson Valley’s Vegan population, the event eventually became a huge …

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Vegan food festival returns for 4th year

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While the idea for the Hudson Valley Vegan Food Festival once started as a small cookout in 2016 to bring together the Hudson Valley’s Vegan population, the event eventually became a huge event, bringing together vegans and non-vegans alike.

The fourth annual Hudson Valley Vegan Food Festival, presented by Newburgh-based TRUSIC Music, LLC, will take place on Saturday, August 31, at The People’s Park, located on the Newburgh Waterfront, 1 Washington St., from 1 to 7 p.m. with a rain date of September 7.

Though the unofficial name for the festival is the “Peace, Love, & Vegan Fest” naming the event ‘Hudson Valley Vegan Food Festival’ was due to the volunteers wanting to attract vegans from different surrounding cities, and they figured putting a large geographic location in the festival’s title would do just that.

In its first three years, an estimated 7,500 people attended the Vegan Fest, including 1700 attendees last year. Felicia Hodges, media relations coordinator says about 3,000 attendees are expected for this year.

Festivalgoers can expect to enjoy great food from the 30+ Hudson Valley vegan/vegetarian restaurants and vendors in addition to cooking demonstrations, live musical performances, yoga workshops, and clinics on the benefits of a plant-based diet and lifestyle. Local wellness and nutrition, art, jewelry, and fashion vendors will showcase their products and service offerings, and the family-friendly event will also have a playtime corner, face painting and veggie-themed games and activities for children. “For far too long we have accepted foods and entertainment that have no nutritional or intrinsic value.

At this festival, you can feed your hunger as well as your soul.” said TRUSIC Music’s founder and CEO Sam “SES Fifth” Simmons V.

Admission is $5 per person, and a portion of the proceeds is donated to a Newburgh community organization dedicated to providing recreational and educational opportunities for youth.

“So far, we’ve donated to the Newburgh Steelers and Newburgh Hook Elite Boxing Club, but last year our turnout wasn’t as expected due to inclement weather, so we couldn’t donate to any organization,” said Hodges.

Hodges also said that over the festival’s three years, they have made enough money to cover their expenses and donate to local organizations, since the event is strictly volunteer-based.

The goal of the event is to promote health awareness, nutrition, and overall wellness through various eco-friendly vegan options- while giving the community a fun time. While this festival is targeted to Newburgh’s ever-growing vegan population, all are invited to attend.

This year’s Vegan Fest will feature more than 30 vendors, some having been with the Festival for a couple of years, and some celebrating their very first Vegan Fest. Some local vendors include The Green Palate Food Truck, serving their vegan meatballs called “Space Balls” and cheese poppers called “80’s Poppers;” “New Windsor’s Blend Smoothie and Salad Bar serving their specialty wheatgrass and pineapple smoothies; Party Animal Catering providing vegan and gluten-free Mackin Cheeze and Mushroom Meatloaf; and Bliss Kitchen and Wellness Center, which specializes in Indian style vegan and vegetarian food; and many more Vegan restaurants and shops all across New York and New Jersey, all serving original, all-natural products.

“Our motto is Love, Peace, and Vegan. We’ve been told by dozens of people that our festival was the turning point in their food/nutrition journey and kicked started them to either go full vegan or adopt a mostly plant-based diet. We take pride in bringing vegan consciousness, commerce, and positive energy into our city, “ says Hodges.

TRUSIC Music hopes to spread the values of these virtues through their musical performances, “We feel it is imperative that we as a society start to focus on the values that we want to see representing us while paying less attention to the negativity that plagues us. We are expecting to continue our growth as a staple in civic engagement and community building for the Hudson Valley and the City of Newburgh. Our festival brings commerce, fun and healthy, delicious food to a city that is reinventing itself,” said Simmons.

For more about the festival, log onto hvveganfoodfest.com or like/follow on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter via @hudsonvalleyveganfoodfest @hvveganfoodfest on Twitter.