BrisVegan Fest 2016, Vegeme and The Cruelty Free Shop Brisbane

Sunday the 4th of September saw the very first BrisVeganFest! Finally, we get our very own vegan festival! I went along to do a shift at the ALQ stall, and to eat all the food. When I got there, I found a stall selling Mac and Cheese, which was nice, and also tried Myk's FFF Kefir. I have been wary of kefir, because I don't do well with fizzy drinks. But they picked out their least fizzy flavour for me, and showed me how to reduce the fizz in it. And it was really nice!



I had planned to go and get lunch from one of the many food stalls, followed by some I Should Coco ice cream, after I finished my shift at ALQ. However the event was so successful that lines were giant and there was a very long wait for food (someone waited over an hour for their ice cream!). I am thrilled that the event was so successful, but my fair skin and hungry tummy couldn't manage a long wait in the sun for exciting food from the vendors.

So a couple of us walked to Vegeme for lunch instead. Sitting down, inside, people bringing us food. Heaven. We shared a bunch of their little plates for a yum cha-style lunch! This included the Salt and Pepper Suji (like chicken, always tasty goodness, we got a second plate), my favourite radish cakes, sweet potato balls (very sweet and creamy, oddly dessert like, very moreish), spring rolls (a bit pale, but nice filling) and some pan-fried dumplings. And lots and lots of water, we were dehydrated from the heat after being at the festival! Lines for drinks, also long.











After lunch, we walked across the road to check out the opening weekend of the new Brisbane branch of The Cruelty Free Shop. It was also quite busy, with a lot of people coming out to check it out. It is a beautiful shop, with lots of lovely products. I picked up a couple of things. I am excited to try out the Birthday Cake cookie! I still haven't eaten it yet.



When I got home, I immediately took a shower to scrape of the seven million layers of sunscreen and sweat, then enjoyed a few goodies I was able to pick up at the VeganFest for afternoon tea. I picked up a yummy lamington from Foodmill, a great vegan bakery that is supplying a lot of cafes now as well, as well as some yummy chocolate truffles (PB&J, orange and hazelnut) from a stall... I forget their name, I'm sorry!



Even though I didn't get to experience (... eat...) as much as I would have liked at the BrisVegan Festival, I am beyond thrilled out the huge success of the day! So many people came out, and I know many of them would not have been vegan, just curious. I am happy to give up my ice cream cone to them, so they can see how wonderful vegan food is! I am looking forward to next year (fingers crossed it doesn't clash with OzComicCon!), where I will go as soon as they open and eat everything in sight. Hee hee.

Vegeme - 9/220 Boundary St, West End, Brisbane - (07) 3846 2723

The Cruelty Free Shop - 2/165 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane - (07 3255 0023)

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Sahara, sleeping dramatically against a cushion. She was just too tired to go any further.