This past weekend I was in the NYC and stopped by the Seed, a vegan food expo in SoHo with tons of inspiring speakers, awesome vendors and arguably some of the best vegan eats you can find. I got to meet up with some of my favorite people, like vegan baker and author Hannah Kaminsky—who has been a friend since we worked together at a vegan restaurant during my summers home from college. I also got to meet up with folks I have interviewed before, but never met, like Adam from the gasmy good food truck, the Cinnamon Snail, and Jill from the online coupon site Vegan Cuts. I even ran into a few people from our Lusty Vegan Facebook group! It was a fun day of connecting, and eating, and eating…and…eating.
Me and Hannah!
Speakers included athletes Rich Roll and Brendan Brazier, authors Kathy Freston, Nick Cooney and Victoria Moran, chefs Hannah Kaminsky and Fran Costigan, activists, advocates and inspiring innovators like Kathy Stevens of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, Jenny Brown of Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau and Marisa Miller Wolfson, whose documentary Vegucated came out last year. Many more speakers make that list even more impressive, I am just too full of vegan donuts to think right now! (Thanks, Cinnamon Snail!)
I also had some amazing food from two food trucks—Cinnamon Snail and Mac’n Food Truck–and from NYC’s vegan darlings, Café Blossom and Foodswings. Oh, and Hannah Kaminsky’s “Ice cream without a machine” demo rocked, and afterward she sent me scurrying away with a bag (yes bag) of her French Vanilla which I devoured before it melted.
Funny Cinnamon Snail!
Mac'n Food Truck!
Ancho chili burger from the Cinnamon Snail!
Korean BBQ Seitan with kimchi courtesy of Cinnamon Snail!
About to dig in on some Foodswings' wings!
All smiles at the Regal Vegan booth!
I love events like this because they showcase a powerful vegan community and make me feel more connected to like-minded individuals. To me, this is important, especially when the people I see on a day-to-day basis aren’t vegan-minded, which can make me feel sort of disconnected from the vegan crowd. It’s refreshing to be reminded how many of us are out there.
So did you go to the Seed? What did you do this weekend?
