Rick and I arrived at the World Beat Center in Balboa Park a little bit before 10am and we stayed until around 2pm. Check it out:
Ah! Seeing the entrance gave me butterflies. We forgot our Vega bag in the car (everyone is guilty of doing this!) and suggested we take it with us for carrying samples and such so we had to get our wrists stamped before we walked out of the premises.
We thought this timeline was super cool; it depicted the history of the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. You just have to wonder how huge the printer had to be to print out that timeline...
As Rick and I snooped around the event, we found a few sample tables (yay!), one of them for Beanfield's bean and rice chips.
Honestly, Rick and I have never heard of the family-owned company before but we were pleased to learn more about it (...and eat their delicious samples). We chit-chatted a little bit with co-founder Roy Glidden:
We also noticed a table for the local Paradise Yogurt team (the veg-friendly frozen yogurt shop which is just across the street from our favorite Indian restaurant, Tandoor). They were sampling tons of goodies, from healthy fruit bars to tasty cookies.
Rick and I chose, and selfishly chose to not share with each other, their peanut butter chocolate chip cookies; they were very yummy and made a lovely pair with decaf coffee, which Rick purchased at the little coffee bar near the entrance of the event.
Another thing we did together was sign up for a free blood pressure check-up from Operation Samahan. They were also doing free glucose readings but, since Rick and I had already eaten, we figured out readings would be inaccurate. As for our blood pressure numbers, we were both considered normal. ;)
After our little walk around the event, we sat our veggie-butts down to watch the first few introductions and announcements. Oh, did I mention they gave me a "blogger" sticker?
The first person to speak was the director of the festival, Linda Le. She gave a lovely introduction for the festival as well as for the other featured speakers for the event.
Linda also introduced the very inspirational Marianne Makeda Cheatom, the founder and executive director of the World Beat Center. She's been following a plant-strong diet for 30+ years and opened the first veg-friendly restaurant in San Diego (The Prophet Restaurant).
Marianne turned 70 this year but I swear she looked 40! And she keeps her young looks all with a healthy, plant-rich diet. She gave great tips on living a healthy and happy life.
Another great speaker was Dr. Purnell (who I thought was super adorable!). She spoke a lot about Asian superfoods and recipes. Oh, and since she's a singer/voice coach, she even sang a few jazz songs for us!
After her lovely performance, Rick and I walked around the festival again to scope out some food. We went outside, following our noses near the entrance, and smelled delicious in the air.
The line was so long but it was so worth it! I gave in to the fried goodness of Southern Fried Vegan's chipotle chickun sandwich, which also came with cajun-spiced collard greens, and a quinoa-red bean side dish. Everything tasted amazing.
We sat on the grass and enjoyed the cool wind after the torturous sun scorched our necks while we waited in line, haha. I also had no choice but to purchase bottled water at the event, though I intended to refill my Vega bottle with, say, fountain water (the food areas of the festival weren't able to refill it since they used recycled/used water).
Although I don't agree with what bottled water (or plastic, in general) does to the environment, Solar Rain didn't seem so bad: their bottles were biodegradable and BPA-free, which I found to be very impressive. I found it peculiar that I didn't feel so bad drinking out of bottled water!
After our delicious meal, Rick and I shared a tasty slice of raw apple pie from Peace Pies.
It was very good! I loved the Larabar-like consistency of the crust and crumble, and the thin apple slices were soft and yummy. It made me want to make my own raw apple pie. Mmm... yes, that'll be next on my kitchen to-do list. ;)
We were very impressed to see that tons of people attended the event. Rick and I felt that, if this festival continues annually, there will definitely need to be room for expansion. We were thinking perhaps the San Diego Convention Center would be a great place to host it once the festival grows. Just maybe. :)
We can't wait to attend the festival again next year!
Source: http://veganrecipereview.blogspot.com/2012/11/update-veg-festival-2012.html
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