This fall, the city of Dundee is going to host its first vegan festival.
Organized by local animal rights activist Barry Conlon and vegan business owner, Jamie Kidd, this event will take place at Chambers East on November 19. People can come and explore vegan charities, local vegan businesses, buy goods and listen to speakers, who will be presenting and discussing a variety of amazing topics.
“Jamie is very familiar with the vegan festival scene as he has his own vegan business, and travels to festivals up and down the country,” said Barry.
He continues: “Myself, I’m a local animal rights activist who frequently runs events in Dundee for the vegan community.
“So we decided to join forces to bring Dundee its first ever vegan festival.
“Jamie and I agree that vegan events should be available for everyone, not just those who live in bigger cities like Edinburgh and London.”
According to Barry, the vegan lifestyle isn’t just about ruling out animal products from your diet. It’s also about eliminating by-products that are considered vegetarian, like eggs, dairy milk, honey, as well as materials used for making clothing that come from animals. Cosmetics using animal products are also a big no!
He also stated that the reason why they are bringing this festival to Dundee is “to try to introduce more people to veganism, support the rapidly growing local vegan community both in Dundee and the surrounding area and showcase local independent businesses and charities such as The Scottish Animal Behaviour and Rescue Centre (SABRC) based in Forfar.”
In addition, all profits made at the event will be donated to SABRC.
Barry adds: “There is much more to the vegan lifestyle than just not eating animal products and we hope to represent this in a variety of stalls that will be in attendance.
“We also plan to have a range of talks and workshops on the day and hope to have something for everyone whether they are vegan, vegetarian or just wanting to come along find out a bit more about the lifestyle.”
The purpose of this event is something that many of us can relate to, as there are many bigger cities that host several popular vegan events. The fact that a smaller city is hosting such a great event is revolutionary. Hopefully we can see more and more small towns and other cities following the lead of Dundee and other places where veganism is growing.
#veganevents
