Thousands Celebrate Veg Eating at the 2012 DC VegFest

This past Saturday, over 8,000 people joined us at the beautiful waterfront Yards Park in Washington, DC to celebrate veg eating during the 2012 DC VegFest. The sun was shining, festival-goers were smiling, and canine friends were wagging their tails.

The excitement started well before the gates even open as hundreds of people waited in line eager to get their hands on one of our 1,000 free commemorative bags, loaded with free products and other items from our sponsors.

On the main stage, VegFest attendees enjoyed engaging talks by Rich Roll, Jane Velez-Mitchell, Dr. Michael Greger, Bruce Friedrich, Afya Ibomu and Mariana Taifa-seitu. Terry Hope Romero and Doron Petersan also engaged the crowd by showing them how to whip up delicious vegan treats during their cooking demos, and NBC4’s Wendy Rieger emceed the event.

From decadent sweets to savory veggie meats, the variety of free food samples plus nearly two dozen food vendors impressed even the pickiest omnivores! And the debut of Bread & Brew’s beer garden was a huge hit. The local brews complemented the vegan nachos smothered in cheese and served up in a frisbee well, and the cool drinks kept attendees hydrated in Saturday’s warm, sunny weather.

The Sticky Finger Sweets & Eats cupcake eating contest drew a large crowd midday, and featured its first-ever canine contest! While the four-legged competitor easily out-ate everyone, out of all the human contestants, COK volunteer Jon Fisher won first place — and was rewarded with a mug from Sticky Fingers and … a free cupcake.

From start to finish, this event was a tremendous success, thanks to all our amazing volunteers, dynamic speakers, generous sponsors and our more than 100 vendors — as well as everyone who joined us on Saturday for the festivities.

Be sure to check out lots more photos online, share your feedback with us, and keep an eye out for details about the 2013 DC VegFest!