Are you hunting for a weekend adventure filled with lively music, fitness, films, speakers and yummy food? Well, look no further than the Hudson Valley Vegfest, a major expo and festival devoted to vegan living.
The event will highlight game-changing vegan businesses, world- renowned speakers, musicians, filmmakers, plant-based chefs, health & fitness gurus and all-around innovators. They come from as far away as Ethiopia, California, Colorado, and our very own Hudson Valley.
This is the first Vegfest to come to our region, and the venue is phenomenal – a 42,000 square foot indoor dome known as “The Net” at Gold’s Gym in Poughkeepsie on September 23-24, 2017.
“The Hudson Valley will now take its rightful place as a center for the incredible new vegan and plant-strong economy emerging around the globe,” said Sande Nosonowitz and Rebecca Moore, cofounders of Hudson Valley Vegfest.
FOOD
“If you look at the vendors on our website, you’ll know that the food at our festival is going to be off the charts,” said Moore.
Some Hudson Valley vendors include Adams Fairacre Farms, Healthy Gourmet To Go, Wendy’s Vegetarian Kitchen and Mother Earth’s Storehouse.
The New Jersey based Mo'Pweeze Bakery is an allergen free & vegan bakery that produces delectable treats like cupcakes, breads, cookies and pies that are just as indulgent as regular bakery items. “Awesome cupcakes! You will never miss what is missing!”
Chocolate Calling, also a New Jersey based company, makes handmade, vegan treats including raspberry cacao, mint chocolate, salted almond, chocolate crunch and chocolate-covered pretzels and potato chips.
Brooklyn born Yeah Dawg believes people can be healed by food. “After a burning desire to embark on this vision to heal people through food, all I could think about was what can I offer that hasn’t been done? So I reinvented the American Classic…the hot dog!” The plant based soy and gluten free hot dogs are delighting vegans all over the Tri-State. “When you bite into a Yeah Dawg your taste buds are elevated and your consciousness raised.”
Food & Wine magazine tasters raved about the Brooklyn-made sauces by Filfil Foods with the mission of “Adding Yummy to Life.” The garlicky flavor and mild heat make it an ideal marinade.
SPEAKERS
Calling all chicken lovers and avian caretakers of the Hudson Valley! Karen Davis, PhD; is the Founder and President of United Poultry Concerns, a nonprofit organization promoting the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl. If you have a question about your backyard chickens, she’s your gal.
Dr. Anteneh Roba is the Founder of The International Fund for Africa. Roba and IFA have done profound work on behalf of both humans and animals in Ethiopia - from medical missions and establishing clinics that have brought physicians, medicine and equipment to treat infants and adults in different regions, to setting up food programs for the hungry and educating on the benefits of a plant-based diet.
Fran Costigan, pastry chef, cookbook author and Director of Vegan Baking and Pastry at Rouxbe Culinary School, is internationally renowned as the authority on vegan desserts. Her unapologetically luscious confections lack nothing—except dairy, eggs, white sugar, and cholesterol, and have changed perceptions the world over about vegan baking.
FILM
“What the Health” is the groundbreaking follow-up film from the creators of the award-winning documentary “Cowspiracy". The film follows intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the secret to preventing and even reversing chronic diseases – and investigates why the nation’s leading health organizations don’t want us to know about it. “The film will be an eye-opener for everyone concerned about our nation’s health and how big business influences it.”
FITNESS DEMONSTRATION
“To learn about PlantBuilt is to turn everything you thought you knew about achieving strength, muscle and peak fitness on its head!” Incorporating the latest, most advanced health and nutritional information, each member of the PlantBuilt team has achieved their goals without any animal products. They view plant-based living as essential to accomplishing elite levels of strength, health and wellness.
MUSIC
Fifteen-year-old Amelia Rose Allen is a singer-songwriter, actor & activist who has appeared on "Celebrity Ghost Stories," "The Today Show" and Nickelodeon. Amelia Rose is passionate about animals and the environment, taking pride in the fact that she lives a vegan lifestyle. Amelia Rose and her band ANTIC will be playing music throughout both days of HV Vegfest.
ZERO WASTE
“We are one of the only festivals to be zero waste, and there will be very little to collect at the end of our event,” said Moore. Hudson Valley Vegfest is working with Zero to Go, an education-based waste management company focused on composting and recycling. Their educational staff will interact with the public throughout the event, clearly explaining the rules and purpose of recycling and composting. The waste station bins will be well-marked, easy to use and located close to where waste is generated at the festival.
“The glorious Hudson Valley - its businesses and communities - deserve a first-class event that not only showcases the health, abundance and compassionate living that is rooted in these communities, but which aims to attract and foster more growth in these sectors. With veganism a growing billion-dollar industry, we will showcase the absolute best of everything green, vegetable, plant-based, healthy and compassionate in the Hudson Valley,” said Moore and Nosonowitz.
