Recap: Vegan Street Fair 2017

This past Sunday I attended Vegan Street Fair 2017, which was bigger and better than ever! Vegan Street Fair started in 2015 (read my past coverage HERE and HERE!), and every year since then they have grown and improved so much that it has become my favorite vegan festival of the year! This year the street fair took over more streets, had more vendors and longer hours, and featuring fun carnival-style games, lots of seating, and even a beer garden!

The event was completely free, but VIP passes were also available for about $40. If you can swing it, I highly recommend VIP tickets, as they allow you access to special VIP front of line windows at nearly every food booth, plus you can also spring for a little extra to get a swag bag that is packed with all sorts of vegan goodies! The food lines at each booth are looooong, so a VIP pass will save you valuable time and ensure you can eat all the vegan things!

This year they eliminated their food tickets as well, so attendees could just pay vendors directly. Thank goodness, since this meant you didn't have to stand in line twice (once to purchase food tickets, and again to exchange those tickets for food), which made everything faster, less confusing, and more streamlined!

I really had a great time, but let's get to what you REALLY want to see - the vegan food (psssst - check out my list of 10 must-try vendors at Vegan Street Fair and see how many I was able to hit below)!

Guillermo del Toro's At Home with Monsters Exhibit

Angel of Death from Hellboy II greets you as you enter the exhibit.

I was finally able to get over to LACMA (the Los Angeles County Museum of Art) to enter the world of Guillermo del Toro through his "At Home with Monsters" exhibit. I love many of del Toro's films and other projects he has been involved with including Cronos (1993), The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Hellboy (2004), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), and Crimson Peak (2015). His influences range from the Victorian era, to sci-fi and comics, to horror to his own tumultuous childhood.

The "At Home with Monsters" exhibit boasts works of art from del Toro's own personal collection as well as props and items from his films and is broken into different sections that reflect his influences. The exhibition begins with a section on "Childhood and Innocence," before moving through the galleries "Victoriana," "Magic, Alchemy, and the Occult," "Movies, Comics, Pop Culture," "Frankenstein and Horror," "Freaks and Monsters," "Death and the Afterlife", and there is even a "Rain Room" with storm clouds projected on the ceiling and rain beating against some gothic windows while lighting flashes. The visit was enthralling, and to be surrounding by so much gorgeous artwork was exhilarating!

Tickets for the special exhibition were $25 (which included admission to the other parts of the museum as well, barring their special rain room exhibits) and though the weekend crowds were a bit much at times, I took my time to absorb all of the wondrous art exhibited in the space and made sure to wander through the space several times so I didn't miss anything!

I took a ton of photos (yes, photography was allowed!), but wanted to share some of my favorites below:

Recap: Delusion 2016 - His Crimson Queen

Delusion's His Crimson Queen

This past weekend I attended the immersive, interactive play Delusion in its 2016 incarnation, titled "His Crimson Queen." Delusion is unlike anything I have experienced, an interactive play where you become characters as well as interact with others to solve a mystery while walking through elaborate sets in an actual mansion. It is an entirely unique entity that has incredible production value, phenomenal acting, thrilling mystery, and just enough scary moments to keep you on your toes! Keep reading about this year's production below and why it is one of the most-anticipated Halloween season events in Southern California!

Los Angeles Vegan Street Fair 2016 Report

The second Vegan Street Fair was held this past Sunday in North Hollywood, California! This year promised to be bigger than last year (read about last year's event HERE!), with more space, more ticket options, and (most importantly) MORE FOOD!

It was held just a few streets over from last year's event, but on a wider street with much more space, and it grew from about 40 vendors to over 90! The vendors were mostly restaurants and food vendors, but there were also clothing companies, vegan lifestyle magazines, animal rescue and sanctuary booths, and many more! Some of the food vendors this year included Blue Window, SunCafe, Casa Coqui, Vegan Pizza, The Ridiculous Baking Co., and soooooo many more!

Vegan Faire 2015 Report

Vegan Faire 2015!

This past Saturday I attended the second annual Orange County Vegan Faire, hosted by Healthy Junk and held on Anaheim's Center Street Promenade. It was my first year attending, and I braved the 90 degree temps for vegan food, vegan friends, and vegan vendors! I was so stoked to have a vegan festival just 20 minutes from my house in Orange County - I'm so happy OC has a veg fest so I don't have to drive all the way up to LA. Even better, a lot of vegan friends came out to the event so I was able to get my grub on with some rad vegan peeps! 

A Day at Death Salon Getty Villa: From Ancient Necropolis to LA's Metropolis

This past Sunday, April 26th, I had the absolute pleasure of attending the Death Salon held at The Getty Villa in Malibu, California, whose broad focus was "From Ancient Necropolis to LA's Metropolis". The Death Salon is curated in part by The Order of the Good Death, who helps put on these events in different locations around the world. This time they partnered with J. Paul Getty Museum and The Getty Villa to bring Los Angeles a view of death that the ancient Etruscans, Romans, and Greeks held, plus touching on some local LA death-centric topics. But wait, you might be asking yourself...just what is a Death Salon? The Death Salon website explains, "In the spirit of the eighteenth-century salon – informal gatherings of intellectuals – Death Salon encourages conversations on mortality and mourning and their resonating effects on our culture and history."

Los Angeles' Vegan Street Fair 2015 Report

This past weekend saw the first ever Vegan Street Fair in Los Angeles! I, like most other SoCal vegans, was super stoked to witness the awesomeness of another vegan event! With over 40 restaurants and food vendors participating, plus some rad t-shirt companies and other vendors that were attending, how could I NOT be excited?! Plus, entrance was free and I loved the idea of eating small bites from a bunch of different food vendors instead of paying $10 for a large plate of food from just one restaurant that would fill me up. The lineup of restaurants/bakeries/clothing companies/etc. was pretty sweet - Mud Hen Tavern, Doomie's, Life is Sweet Bakeshop, Organix, Bramble Bakeshop, and Herbivore Clothing were just a few I was excited about!

31 Days of Halloween: Vegan Oktoberfest 2014 Report

This past Saturday I attended the first ever Vegan Oktoberfest, held right on the beach in Santa Monica, California. Oktoberfest is such a quintessential October celebration, I was so, so excited that we finally had an all-vegan option for this celebration of drink and food! I had grabbed early-bird VIP tickets (cost: $50 each, though after the early bird sale they went up to $65 each) pretty much the day they announced the event many months back, so I had been eagerly anticipating attending this vegan event.

My Day at the Los Angeles Vegan Beer and Food Festival 2014

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

I attended my very first LA Vegan Beer and Food Festival this past weekend! I was so happy I was finally able to go and so excited to eat and drink my way through a Saturday afternoon. This was the event's 5th year, and it just keeps growing! This year the fest sold out in record time and hosted about 2,500+ people. The event attracts vegans and the veg-curious from near and far, and with good reason - vegan beer and food, all day long! I had a really great time, as did all who attended, but I wanted to walk you through my day there, let you know some of few annoyances I encountered, and offer tips and tricks to maximize your time at the fest should you attend next year (which I hope you do!).

My Top 10 Vegan Products at Natural Products Expo West

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

This year was the first time I attended the Natural Products Expo West, held every year at the Anaheim Convention Center, which is only about 20 minutes from my house. I was super-excited to be able to attend the Expo, where companies show off their latest and greatest products. Lots of vegan companies were in attendance (represent!), so I was able to check out many, many new products as well as stuffing my face with samples of my favorite vegan foods. Yes, I ate LOTS and LOTS of samples, but it was all for you, dear readers! I just HAD to eat every vegan thing in sight so I could dutifully report my findings to you, right? Righhhhhtttt...

A Visit to the World's Largest All-Vegan Grocery Store, Viva La Vegan!

Viva La Vegan Grocery Store

This past weekend I made the pilgrimage to the world's largest all-vegan grocery store, Viva La Vegan, in Rancho Cucamonga, CA! It is only about an hour away from me, but I had never made the trip up there before. They carry all sorts of vegan groceries, plus beauty and health products, clothes, shoes and even have a deli on-site! It is like mecca for vegans - everything in the store is vegan!

I have the luxury of having several natural health food stores (Mother's Market, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Trader Joe's) less than 10 minutes away from my home and these usually carry all the vegan necessities and treats I need. However, it was so nice to be in a store where I knew EVERYTHING was vegan and I didn't have to constantly check labels. Plus, they actually carried some vegan products I had been lusting for but had never found (hello, Cocomels Coconut Milk Caramels!).

Go Vegan! - Viva La Vegan Floor plus deli dining area

I wandered around the store for at least an hour, discovering new vegan products or gleefully finding products I'd seen no where else. Some highlights included finding their large selection of Hurraw! and Crazy Rumors lip balms, browsing their book section, snagging their last bag of Phoney Baloney's Coconut Bacon, checking out their huge Beyond Meat selection and discovering their expansive vegan candy section!

My haul from Viva La Vegan included (pic below): Earth Balance Vegan Aged White Cheddar Flavor Puffs, Vegan Bunny Patch, Alternative Baking Company Pumpkin Spice Cookie, Surf Sweets Fruity Bears and Sour Worms, Wayfare Pig Out Whole Grain Bacony Bits, Go Raw Pizza Flax Snax, Nacheez Dairy Free Nacho Sauce, Road's End Organics Alfredo Style Chreese Sauce, Butler Soy Curls, Cocomels in Java and Original Flavor, Phoney Baloney's Coconut Bacon, Go Raw Banana Bread Flax Bar, Deva Vegan Hair, Nails and Skin Vitamins, Hurraw! Lip Balm in Green Tea and Coconut flavors, Crazy Rumors HibisKiss Lip Color in Breeze, "None More Vegan" pin!

Their staff was friendly, even when I bugged them to check if they had any more Go Max Go Thumbs Up bars (they were all out) and Phoney Baloney's Coconut Bacon (I had to be content with just one bag). Everyone there was nice and even the shoppers themselves seemed so joyful to be in an entirely vegan store!

The only downside were that the prices tended to be a bit high for products I could normally find in other stores (their Veganaise was pretty pricey at around $8 when I could find it elsewhere for $5 or $6), but on average I found that most of their prices were comparable to other health food stores. Plus, for hard-to-find items the prices were worth it! And I don't mind paying a bit more to support an all-vegan business!

Viva La Vegan truck in the parking lot

Viva La Vegan is located at 9456 Roberds Street in Rancho Cucamonga, California. There is plenty of parking in the parking lot adjacent to the store or on the street. Plus, there are lots of beautiful neighborhoods to drive through on the way there!

If you are in the Southern California area, I highly recommend making the trip to Viva La Vegan! I am already planning on going back sometime soon!

Viva La Vegan Grocery - website

Vegan Girl Scout Cookies

Guess what?! Vegan Girl Scout cookies may be available in your area!

As reported earlier this month by the always informed quarrygirl, the ABC Bakery used by some chapters of the Girl Scouts of America has four varieties of cookies that are vegan (Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Lemonades and Thanks-a-Lots). Woo hoo!

Be careful, though, because some Girl Scout chapters use a different bakery (Little Brownie Bakers) that has NO vegan cookie options. The only vegan cookies are the four varieties mentioned above IF they are made by ABC Bakery.. 

I know the vegan Girl Scout cookies are available in my 'hood of Orange County (the Girl Scout chapter here uses ABC Bakery), but if you are in Los Angeles you are outta luck since the other bakery is used. I think these are the only two bakeries the Girl Scouts uses countrywide, but I am not 100% sure on this, so always do your research before buying!

To find out if your local Girl Scouts carry the vegan cookies, you can look for the ABC Bakery logo on the cookie boxes or look up cookie selling locations by zip code here! You can also check the ingredient list - the non-vegan bakery uses dairy in all their cookies (boo.).

I was able to buy some cookies from a co-worker whose daughter was selling the vegan varieties and I was so excited! I can't tell you the last time I was able to enjoy Thin Mints...they tasted delicious, just how I remember! I also got some Peanut Butter Patties and they were pretty much to die for as well!

Native Foods' Cinco De Mayo Cooking Demo Report

It promised to be a bright, sunny day this past Saturday. Not only were the birds chirping and the sun was shining, but my mom happened to be visiting from NorCal! Yippee!! And what does a vegan do to impress her non-veg mom on a beautiful day? Why, take her to an outdoors Native Foods cooking demo, of course!

If you are a vegan living in SoCal then you are no doubt familiar with the delish Native Foods restaurants. With locations in Costa Mesa (the locale I like to haunt on a weekly basis), L.A., Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Tustin and Aliso Viejo (with new locations popping up all the time!), almost everyone in SoCal can enjoy the mouthwatering (and completely vegan) food Native Foods offers. The friendly founder of the phenomenal vegan chain, Chef Tanya, is a hoot in person and does each and every cooking demo herself. She isn’t shy about answering questions and it goes without saying that she is a great chef!

Chef Tanya answering questions while preparing fresh cactus salad