Charlottesville, Virginia Vegetarian Festival Serving Up Healthy Choices!
Lee Park
Charlottesville, VA
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C'ville Vegetarian Festival
by Lisa Harris
The Charlottesville Vegetarian Festival, held at the end of September (28th), although not as crowded as years past was still very pleasant and packed with useful information and services that were beneficial to those interested in eating healthier, gardening, fitness, pet care and the environment as a whole. Children played freely, adults ate and mingled, and dogs both large and small rested under the slightly overcast sky.
There weren’t as many food vendors as in times past and very few vegan options available.
I was very pleased to talk to Kathy, the owner of Greenery who did had some vegan dishes available. Kathy, although very busy, took a second to pose for a picture along with one of her staff members. She does not have a restaurant but if you are in Charlottesville on a Saturday and find yourself at the local farmer’s market you can definitely try something from her amazing menu! I had the distinct pleasure to taste her barbeque Jackfruit and root vegetables. For those of you who have ever eaten pulled pork this is a healthy vegan alternative. The root vegetables consisted of beets, sweet potatoes, carrots and red cabbage which was a very tasty blend. If you are vegan, like me, you could forgo the sauce and even the naan bread and have your veggies in a dish.
Soul Ice was a delightful treat and as their sign says, it is a great alternative to ice cream! All of their 26 flavors are water-based and non-dairy. The fruit flavored treats are made using pureed fruit. The strawberry banana ice treat was amazing with fresh sliced strawberries and pureed strawberries drizzled on top. Soul Ice not only provides wonderful treats but they also seek to empower other entrepreneurial minded individuals by providing a Life Skills and Entrepreneurship Program which teaches people the everyday operations of complete business ownership. Way to go Soul Ice!
I guess I was really feeling the iced treats because I found myself standing in line at Pantheon Ice Pop where I got a handmade ginger kombucha popsicle! The Kombucha came from another local vendor, Barefoot Bucha. They also had a Chocolate Sea Salt popsicle that was just divine. I had every intention of going back to buy one after tasting my husband’s but decided that I have had enough. That will be my first stop next year for sure!
In addition to food vendors there were also a variety of vendors that ranged from worms for compost to henna tattooing. I would have liked to have seen more diversity in food choices but overall the festival was good and I will most likely attend it again next year!
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