----- Original Message -----
From: "Leamington Veggies & Vegans"
To: leamingtonveggies@...
Subject: Festive Food Fair Report - better late than never!
Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2006 12:38:37 +0000 (GMT)



The following report can be seen, with many photos from the event, on
our website here
http://www.leamingtonveggies.makessense.co.uk/articles/273.html
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Happy New Year! LVV



Leamington Free Festive Veggie Food Fair 2005
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The West Midlands has been hit by a wave of vegetarian/veganism
during 2005, with free food fairs taking place in Solihull, Coventry
and Redditch and our regions first ever vegan festival(Realfood` s
Heart of England Vegan Festival ) was held in Birmingham in June.
With active vegan groups also springing up all over the place,
cruelty-free folk in Leamington Spa were keen to get in on the
action! Leamington Veggies & Vegans was born, a small group intent on
spreading the word about healthy, animal-free diets that are better
for people, animals & the planet. Less than 2 months before Xmas, LVV
hastily set about organising a Festive Food Fair at what is
undoubtedly the best venue in town - Bath Place Community Venture. We
had high hopes that our festive feast would pull in the crowds, but
nothing could prepare us for the sheer numbers that attended. The
fair was held one week before Christmas on Saturday 17th December.
Throughout the day, aspiring veggies & vegans jostled for position as
t hey queued & made their way to our banquet of delicious delights.
Food on offer included onion bhajees, nut roast, pizza, sausages,
quiche, burgers, dairy-free ice cream, a range of irrestistible cakes
and lots more. Our volunteers worked flat out cooking food &
replenishing empty platters time and time again, struggling to keep
up with demand! Thanks to the constant stream of people, the 8-9
tables set aside for them to sit and enjoy their food, were not
enough to cope and consequently, many people were forced to remain
standing! A vast array of literature was displayed on 2 tables. There
were free recipes for many of the dishes available at the fair,
health and nutrition factsheets, and many leaflets detailing the
environmental destruction, global hunger and animal suffering caused
by the meat and dairy industries. The fair boasted cookery demos
split into 3 sessions at intervals through the day - starters, main
courses and dessert. Liz Hughes (pictured) of Birmingham Veggies &
Vegans expertly demonstrated how to cook delicious vegan dishes such
as Mushroom & artichokes en croute and Soft caramel blackcherry bombe
with hot chocolate sauce! Well away from the main, busy hall, at each
session, 15-20 people sat listening and watching intently as
mouthwatering, festive meals were prepared infront of their eyes.
Thanks to `some we made earlier`, everyone was given the opportunity
to sample the various dishes. Other attractions included stalls
selling lots of cruelty-free goodies ie vegan chocolate, books,
cosmetics & toiletries, clothing, Christmas cards, badges and lots
more. Groups holding stalls included The Vegan Society, Dr Hadwen
Trust for Humane Research and Leamin gton`s very own ethical,
wholefood shop Gaia had their own stall selling a range of their
stock. Several alternative therapists offered relaxing treatments
including indian head massage, shiatsu, crystal healing, reiki etc. A
creche operated in a seperate room throughout the day, and kept the
little ones busy, whilst their parents enjoyed the event. Childrens
activities included a Fruity Faces Food Workshop and a Popcorn Making
Workshop, both of which were thoroughly enjoyed by a dozen or more
young children. It was impossible to keep track of numbers through
the door, but we estimate over 500 people attended. Well over a
hundred filled in our questionnaire, many have pledged to change
their diet for the better and dozens wish to join LVV. Several
producers of veggie/vegan food, very generously donated larg e
amounts of their products - we`re very grateful to Redwoods
Wholefoods, Beanies Health Foods and Suma. Thanks to these and other
food donations from various individuals, and well over £200 of
donations on the day, we have actually made profit!! This will be
ploughed into running LVV, including organising food fairs at least
every 6 months. We would particularly like to thank Redditch
Vegetarians and Vegans. Not only did they provide alot of the food
for the event, but a total of 6 RVV members helped us on the day. We
followed the RVV guide to organising a food fair, which helped make
our fair the success it was. We would advise any group wanting to pr
omote veganism, to organise a free food fair in your town. With a
good venue & plenty of volunteers, you simply can`t go wrong, and you
may even make money!!

Leamington Veggies & Vegans07913 135480leamingtonveggies@...

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Redditch Vegetarians & Vegans
PO Box 10202, Redditch, Worcs B98 8YT
Tel: 01527 458395
Email: reddiveggie@...
Website: www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk

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