Vegandale is a vegan festival with lots of vegan food options, some information about cruelty in animal agriculture, and a very small (disappointingly small) amount of non-food vegan merch. The Toronto event in Woodbine Park is also adjacent to a coffee rave, which means the entire time a DJ is spinning loud dance music with heavy bass and there are a lot of people bopping about. I liked the energy that element of it brought. But I’m not sure it would appeal to everyone.
We had general admission tickets, which meant $30 bought us entry for two people at noon. VIP tickets would have allowed us to enter at 11 and also to get a complimentary drink. But just after noon when we arrived it wasn’t at all busy, and I preferred my full choice of drinks from the various vendors. My mango juice was delicious:
When we got there, we said we were going to do a sweep of the place first so we could make decisions based on full info. There is lots to eat and choices to make to avoid feeling over-stuffed. But then we ran into the Sausage Party booth and just had to try the vegan hot dog croissant:
It was a good first choice, and also a great discovery because it turns out that Sausage Party has a regular store front in Toronto, not all that far from us (though not just around the corner either).
We then continued on our way, eating as we walked, bookmarking places to come back to later (such as the popcorn place, the donut place, and the taco place). There at least 50 vendors in booths and trucks, so it’s a lot to take in.
Line-ups were minimal and I wouldn’t say it got crowded. A few popular vendors had longer lines, like a place that made what looked like fried sushi rice cakes. Someone said they were really good but I can’t vouch for them and they didn’t appeal to me enough to line up for them.
In the middle of Vegandale is a photoshoot area with different displays and posters for people to take photos with and post on social media. The event doesn’t play up the sustainability angle. Instead, its focus is cruelty to non-human animals. As such, the murals and posters provide information focusing on that.
For example:
There are signs making it clear that this area is for photos. They ask people not to sit there with food or to hang out there. Everyone was very respectful of that. If you go to Toronto Vegandale next year or to Vegandale in another city (it’s got versions in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, LA, Calgary, and Vancouver, I recommend doing that part early.
We spent a good few hours at Vegandale, taking some breaks to just sit under the trees at the side in the shade. Next time we’ll bring a picnic blanket or some small folding chairs. We ended up bringing a few things home to eat later — a sticky rice mango dessert, some donuts, churros, and vegan cheddar popcorn. We planned ahead for this and had a couple of reusable shopping bags with us for that purpose.
It was a fun day out and we will do it again next year. If you want to go but not wait until then, it’s happening in New York on September 27th.
Bon appétit!
Vegan Practically 
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