The UK’s biggest free vegan event Vegfest Free held at Edgbaston weekend April 25th has been hailed as a ‘huge success’ with over 2,000 people in attendance and a proliferation of excellent feedback across multiple media platforms as vegans from across the UK gathered in numbers to celebrate the best in plant-based living. Over 130 traders were present at the event with a spectacular array of vegan options for both a core vegan crowd and people new to plant-based living, and the whole event was topped off with glorious sunshine for the day, ensuring a very happy gathering for everyone involved.

Highlights of the event included a mesmerising performance from West End singer Roger Wright, who played Simba in The Lion King for many years, alongside an electric comedy hour featuring Ishi Khan and Dawn Chorus, who has taken the vegan scene by storm this last couple of years, drawing large crowds  at every occasion. A whole programme of talks and panels featuring well-known speakers from the plant based community graced the stage and panels including sponsors Heather Mills (No Bloat), Adrian Ling (Plamil Foods), Joe Hill (One Planet Pizza), Karin Ridgers (Mad Promotions) and Keith Lessa (Vegan Accountants) brought a succession of vegan business success stories to the arena at a time when many vegan independents have been severely challenged.

Other highlights included a packed session for the key note speech from Heather Mills, a panel from the Plant-Based Health Professionals UK, fireside chats with Adrian from Plamil and film director Dan Richardson, a whole lineup of campaigns and activism featuring Animal Aid, Viva! and a number of grassroots campaigns, and the incredible Vegan Women’s Club meetup at the end of the day. Thankyou everyone who partook – the event saw over 50 speakers and performers throughout the day.

‘Vegfest Free has proved to be a huge lift for many vegan independents’ declared the organisers, ‘with many traders selling out and many more enjoying their best day trading at a vegan event for some time. And with up to 60 stalls made free of charge for CIC’s, animal sanctuaries, small charities, artists and authors, the event was genuinely inclusive bringing together a whole core collective from the vegan community that is often excluded from the big shows on price grounds.’

With admission free to the public the event attracted both core vegan community and people new to plant-based lifestyles, with the event making a very positive impression on visitors yet to be vegan, with many pledging to increase plant-based options and make changes after visiting the show. ‘Vegfest Free is very much about outreach as well as focusing on the vegan community and has successfully attracted new people to the movement, and that’s a very positive step forward for everyone.’

Plans to return in 2027 are being drawn up and the show moves on to Bristol in June for the Bristol Vegan Fayre (June 20th) and a return to Kensington Town Halls December 5th for the London Vegan Fayre, with some more dates to be announced shortly for later in the year. Plans for the 2027 Birmingham show should be unveiled in the autumn

Donations to help cover the cost of this free event are very welcome