FAMILY OUTING
JABBERWOCKY JAKE TALKS VEGANISM TO KIDS AT THE EVENT.
Even if you don’t like vegetables, VegFest might surprise.
Kids have a chance to taste-test vegan cupcakes, vegan doughnuts, vegan barbecue, vegan burgers and vegan mac and cheese at this weekend’s VegFest Houston. And they may not realize they’re eating the vegan version of their favorite foods, organizers say.
Founded in 2011 in a Montrose parking lot, the annual event will be its largest to date, with upwards of 8,000 expected to attend. Minute Maid Park is the new home for the free event, which will feature an expanded kids zone thanks to the larger space.
You don’t have to be a vegan to attend VegFest. In fact, co-founder Kristen Ohanyan says, 60 per-cent of attendees are not vegan. Some who come to the event are “vegan curious,” she says; others are drawn to the family-friendly atmosphere.
Through vegan-food vendors offering samples, educational booths and Q-and-A panels, Ohanyan says, the volunteer-run fest spreads awareness of the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.
Ohanyan hopes guests will discover it’s easier than they think to be vegan or to incorporate vegan foods into their meals. She also expects they’ll discover that some vegan foods, including vegan pizza, taste remarkably similar to their nonvegan counterparts.
“The more seeds we can plant, the more we can educate and inspire people to have a more compassionate lifestyle,” she says. “Our goal is to save animals, to save people’s health and to protect the environment.”
Ask a vegan
“I’ve raised a vegan child, and I know what a joy it can be,” Ohanyan says of her 13-year-old son. “I know there are sometimes struggles and questions,” too, she says. The event’s educational sessions are designed to demystify the practice of being vegan.
Panels include Ask a Vegan Athlete — which will focus on fitness and physical health — Ask a Vegan Doctor, hosted by a vegan pediatrician, and Ask a Vegan Parent.
Families will learn the practice promotes sustainability and has health benefits, Ohanyan says.
“We all want our children to be healthy — that’s the most a parent can ever hope for is a healthy, happy child.”
Dance party
New to this year’s VegFest is vegan beer and wine. Parents can stroll with theirs to the kids zone, where even the entertainer is vegan.
Jake Plew, a local performer who goes by the moniker Jabberwocky Jake, is a DJ specializing in kidfriendly set lists. He’ll lead dances, games and sing-alongs.
Plew’s act extends to nonvegan events throughout the year, including birthday parties and church
festivals. He says the annual VegFest allows him to “emphasize the vegan message.”
In between songs, he’ll mirror the adult educational panels by passing around the microphone so kids can ask him questions. In the past, young attendees have asked what a vegan is and why he chose to be one. He’ll reply that he became a vegan three years ago out of curiosity, then stuck to the lifestyle “for the animals, for my diet, for the environment, for the water crisis and for the future,” he says.
Kids often ask Plew what his favorite vegan food is, which gives him a chance to describe how tasty vegan sloppy joes and vegan
“chicken” strips are. Both will be available on site.
“It’s kind of like a teaching moment,” he says.
Plew will mash up songs from popular animated films and use an iPad to get the group to practice its floss dance and mime playing instruments.
The kids zone also has Lego building, craft-making using recycled materials, face painting and video-game kiosks.
Plew says parents use the kids zone as a place to sit and taste the vegan foods they’ve collected. In addition to juices and smoothies, for the more adventurous, there are all-raw vegan menus with offerings such as vegan pâté.
“The range is so broad that there really is something for all taste buds,” Ohanyan says. The vendors “have worked so hard to make vegan food similar to the foods that you grew up on.”
For those who want to experiment with becoming a vegan, there is takeaway messaging about how to identify vegan brands at big-box grocery stores.
Arrive with an open mind, she advises. “Some of these foods are just gonna blow people away.”