An awesome event that gets better every year! This summer it was held at Banker's Fieldhouse which offered lots of great space as well as ample parking. As always, entry is FREE but you could opt into a paid ticket which allowed pre-entry an hour before the public. I always enjoy the variety of merchant vendors, but this year there were so many interesting businesses represented! Sierra Club Indiana Chapter, Hoosier Environmental Council. Upland Peak Animal Sanctuary, Pet Friendly Services, Commuter Connect...to just name a few. It's a great way to learn more about environmentally friendly businesses and the services they offer. There was even a vegan dietician on hand to answer any questions guests had about living a healthy vegan lifestyle. I came hungry and wasn't at all disappointed by the variety of food vendors available on the floor level. Many sold out of their goods by the end of the event. I had an amazing bbq jackfruit sandwich from Union Jack's Pub, pistachio ice cream from Moo Over and took home some amazing soy Gouda cheese from the Vegan Cheese Lady. Also purchased some amaretto flavored maple syrup and a sampler pack from Dragonwood syrups...yum! There was a cooking demonstration by Sea Salt and Cinnamon that I unfortunately missed. A variety of alcoholic beverages were also available at the fieldhouse bars. All in all, I had a great time as always. My thanks go out to Katelin and Joseph for all their hard work in organizing this fantastic event! There's something for everyone regardless of whether you're a veg-head or not. read more

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I knew this event is a wild success each year, but I'm not a vegetarian or a vegan. I fully expected to simply check it out and then eat elsewhere. NOPE. I ate DELICIOUS food from amazing vendors - many that I didn't even realize serve vegan options. Located at the Biltwell Event Center this year, the first floor consisted primarily of food vendors (both cooked-to-order and pre-packaged options). Bizs included: -Three Carrots -Ezra's Enlightened Cafe -Union Jack's -Mama P's Bakery -Duos, BRICS -Circle City Kombucha -Tlaoli New, amazing businesses I encountered for the first time: -Sea Salt & Cinnamon -Simply Divine Cupcakes -Roamers (delish beet hummus) There were a TON of people at this event. My tip would be to come towards the end so there's less lines. It's a great spot to learn about your food and also try amazing local options. read more

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Do come to Indy VegFest if: -you want to support the vegetarian/vegan community -you want to know more about a plant-based lifestyle and its benefits -you are hungry for some plant-based sweet and savory treats from local businesses Do not come to Indy Vegfest if: -you hate crowds -you despise standing in line read more

Indy VegFest - Via Mama P's Bakery - Festivals Near Me - Indianapolis, Indiana

I'd love it if Indy got more VegFests like this. What an awesome event! I lived as a vegetarian for 10 years straight, and still am not a huge meat eater. Here in Indiana, though, that can feel like a completely fringe way to live. It was great to see so many local options for vegetarian dining and also plenty of health and beauty products related to an animal friendly lifestyle. read more

Indy VegFest - Festivals Near Me - Indianapolis, Indiana

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The turn out was really incredible! There are a wide variety of booths, not just vegan eats. There are also a variety of other booths, like dog rescues, and sustainable jewelry and health information booths. I think they needed a bigger venue, it was shoulder to shoulder in the hall. The beet burgers were delicious, I also recommend the kombucha booth or marshmallow booth in the middle. The Center of Wellness for Urban Women was handing out free seed packets, and there were a few places with food samples. Overall other than the overcrowding this festival was really cool. I hope that there is another again next year! Ps- for the non vegans there appears to be a parade of food trucks just outside the convention center, which gave us a good laugh. read more

Indy VegFest - There are some dancers outside. - Festivals Near Me - Indianapolis, Indiana

Love that the Indy foodie scene has enough interest & enthusiasm to host an event to celebrate plant based foods and products. There was all kinds of vendors, not just food...jewelry, clothing, essential oils, etc. I really enjoyed the cooking demonstrations. Great event! read more

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For a first-time event, this was great. And c'mon, who would've thought that the capital of TENDERLOINS would be having a vegan/plant-based festival? It's pretty amazing if you ask me. I attended early in the crowd to receive a gift bag full of awesome goodies, including a chocolate bar from my fave: Endangered Species Chocolate. Many reviews say that the businesses were unrelated including rescues and advocacy-based organizations. Really? I didn't feel that way at all. We're all in this together and it starts with an entire community of raising awareness to make something like plant-based living become a common, socially acceptable lifestyle. I loved the variety and diversity of the groups. A few suggestions for future VegFests: - bigger space. Look, the space it was held in 2017 was great for a first year. They didn't expect so many people to show up so they did the best they could and honestly, it worked. - more food. I love me some food so even more food tables would be perfect. - I can't remember from 2017, but was there a nutritionist there? I'd love to have more medical professionals there (i.e. nutritionists, doctors, pharmacists) that are using more holistic approaches to their medical professions. It's hard to come by in Indy sadly. Really looking forward to this year's fest and can't wait to see an even higher attendance to support plant-based living! read more

Lots of vendors, lots of food. The parking for the event was a little turn off. I understand it was the space and not the event, but parking is huge. The bottom floor was extremely dark; way too dark for an event of this many vendors and guests. The upstairs had all the light. They also had more vendors, but also had panels and exhibits. Overall, I think the next year it should be held in a different space. read more

Indy VegFest - Festivals Near Me - Indianapolis, Indiana

So glad to see Indy have a vegfest! I worked the event and thought it was a bit too long. It should have been cut into two sessions or have just been shorter. I say this because I saw how much it slowed down after 3-4pm. I also noticed that food vendors had run out of food. Maybe it was because the food was just that damn good. Not sure though. I did have the gyro from Three Carrots and it was delicious! What a turnout! It was a bit over crowded at points and I don't think people could see which vendors were where. I thought it was a great idea how the vendor names were high above the vendor tables though. It just was hard to get to at points. It was great to see how many vegetarians and vegans are in the area though. And how many businesses are! Overall, great event. Especially for the first year! Can't wait for next year! read more

Indy VegFest - Gyro from Three Carrots - Festivals Near Me - Indianapolis, Indiana

We wanted to see what the hype was about, so I "reserved tickets" online. One would think they would ticket this free event to help with crowd control. Not exactly. We were there right at opening time of 1:00. It was raining, which normally deters otherwise hardly Hoosiers. But not today. The line wrapped around the entry space a few times then around the corner. The rent-a-sheriff wasn't letting people park in the grass lot across the street. That was all I needed to drive right on by. We did look for street parking around the block, but when we couldn't find any for 4 blocks west of the event we decided to kill time downtown and come back later. We hit it again at 3:00 and luckily there was no line. There also was no parking. Though we could see several empty spots in the paved parking lot right behind the Biltwell, more sheriffs weren't letting anyone in--only out! The fact that we still had to walk 4 blocks in the rain just because these guys and gals wanted to trip the power fantastic, was stupid and infuriating. And they knew there were empty spots and they were just not having it. We weren't the only ones who were put out. Others were grumbling about it as we all walked in. I learned from these fellow attendees that people were getting cars stuck in mud in the grassy lot across the street earlier, but no one could figure out why the cops weren't letting us park in the actual property's own paved parking lot given all the available spots. It created a severe traffic problem in the surrounding neighborhood that I'm sure the residents didn't appreciate. It was still pretty crowded inside half-way through the event. I can't imagine the craziness that beset the place at 1p. There were a ton of volunteers in purple Eskanazi shirts clumped up front, in a few conspicuous places near exits and main arteries, but they were seemingly not doing anything helpful. Not checking phones for tickets, not facilitating lines, not taking out trash or the like. Just standing there. The bottom floor had clothes and beauty product vendors, holistic practitioners, and various organizations' booths. Upstairs were vegan food vendors. When we got upstairs by about 3:20, lines were still quite long and most vendors were out of at least some of their offerings. After standing in line for 25 min so my son could buy a vegan sugar cookie for $3 just to find out that the ladies at the booth were gabbing endlessly with whoever, I'd basically had about all I could take. We'd signed up for iridology readings (insert eye-roll emoji), so we did that and then were out. It was an okay event to go to once, but we won't be back next year. read more

This event was well worth the wait. I am a vegan newbie so this was perfect timing! I arrived a little after 3 pm, which was perfect timing for less crowds and lines. The Biltwell Center was a beautiful venue. A few improvements was the lack of parking available (carpool) and the dim lighting on the first floor. At times it was hard to read signage from the amazing vendors. I really enjoyed the variety of vendors from food to hygiene. Also that Indy VegFest was being sustainable by encouraging attendees to bring water bottles, bags, and had recycle/compost stations. This vegan event was very friendly and accessible to those new to veganism or considering the vegan lifestyle. I am super excited to attend and potentially volunteer at next years Indy Veg Fest read more

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Update: they need to change where the event is held. Inconsistent electricity is one thing but multiple cars getting stuck in the mud for an hour with four other cars is definitely not enjoyable I want to thank Deputy Randy Potts for helping us and the other cars get out! I really enjoyed going to this event! It's almost making a year of my being a vegan and I enjoyed having so many options to choose from! I was able to enjoy some great matcha chip ice cream from Brics along with grabbing a 32 oz growler from Circle City kombucha(they sell their products on the indy market wagon website I believe). I will definitely make it an effort to come again next year!! read more

Wow! What a great event. My husband and I had the free early admittance tickets so we were lucky to try so much great food early on. There were vendors from near and far. A shout out to my employer Eskenazi Hospital and Dr Lisa Harris for all they do to promote, health, wellness, and sustainability in our community and at this event. Dr Harris has been ahead of her time in this area of health. Food is medicine. Great job IndyVeg Fest! read more

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Was crazy busy but cluster truck had amazing samples! Got there right at 12 and the line was insane. read more

Indy VegFest - Festivals Near Me - Indianapolis, Indiana

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This is my first VegFest. You can't be mad at the crowds. We took our patience and worked our way through the crowds. Grabbed a couple jackfruit tacos and a Rueben. Both were great. And I love that Miss P was there w a delicious cupcake. So make great vegan cheeses for me. Purchased a few different vegan cheeses. Great friendly vendors. The soaps smell so great. We will be back. (Hint it was clearing out around 4 might be a good time next year) read more

I had high hopes for this event but it was so crammed we only spent a few minutes there before deciding to leave. There were so many people in attendance around noon (which is awesome!) that you could not even walk through the vendor booths without feeling like a fish swimming upstream. The one sample I was able to try was Clustertruck's vegan curry dish and it was SUPERB. I would have gladly had a full bowl of that. I'm hoping with whah a success in numbers VegFest had this year that they can have a larger venue next year. The city is clearly interested this type of thing, so I think next year people would be willing to pay for a ticket if it meant the space was bigger and better. read more

So excited to attend Indy Veg fest! There were lots of vendors and food, though most of the food vendors ran out early. I think it was due to the overwhelming turnout! I think they definitely need a larger space next year, which is great news for sure. SO many people came out to experience the event. I hope there are more vegan vendors next year and more food vendors see the market for vegan options. read more

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Loved seeing all the vegan community come together for the first veg fest. My favorite part was being able to taste vegan items from across the city. Definitely check out Whelpdale chocolates for some chocolate that even non vegans couldn't taste a difference in! read more

Indy VegFest - Festivals Near Me - Indianapolis, Indiana

Update: 5 stars for an awesome venue the second time around. So much fun, so much food and honestly this is doing wonders for the vegan movement. Thank you to all of the vendors and people who have worked hard these last 2 years to make VegFest happen read more

This event was wild. There were way more people attending the event than I ever expected. They could have chosen a larger venue, but I enjoyed the event overall. I learned a lot about veganism and tried the various different types of food they offered. read more

Loved the new location of the Indy Veg Fest this year. I won two VIP tickets this year which allowed me to go an hour before the general public. In the future, I will purchase the VIP tickets. It was well worth going in early and not having too much of a crowd to sample everything. I was also introduced to so many local brands I didn't know about. My two favorite vendors were Circle City Kombucha and Roamers. I look forward to visiting again next year. read more

Way bigger crowd than I'd expected, but they managed us very well. Most of the items tasted very good, with some being too earthy for my palate. I really enjoyed it and learned about a lot of vegan products I'd never even thought of before. Hopefully this becomes an annual thing, because it was very beneficial. read more

Parking was insane. Thank goodness admission was free. Too many people for the space.

What an amazing event! Thank you so much for bringing this to Indy!!! Lots of great food and wonderful people! read more

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It was very promising for the first year! All the food items were delicious, but the food seller booths and lines need to be better organized for that size of crowd. Will return next year read more

I was certainly looking forward to this event, but there were several logistics that could have been given more thought. Specifically, the placement of the food vendors was not ideal, as no one could tell what line they were in and it was way too crowded. The beverage stations were on opposite sides of the venue from the tables and food vendors. The flow of the raffle was odd. The venue was a bit tight and humid (the rain didn't help). I assume no one anticipated the large turnout, but I hope that will be taken into consideration for the next event. It was still a good time, but next year I'm hoping for a great one! read more

Too many people and too many unrelated vendors - dog rescues, jewelry, etc. Small space and loud crowd. Crazy lines to sample or purchase anything edible. Good thing I had lunch prior to it. The best thing I got out of it are free expired veggie seeds that hopefully are still alive.... read more

I was second in line and was one of the 250 first folks who got a goodie bag. Thanks! I want to go again next year, but I am hoping for a bigger, brighter venue; perhaps in a park where there is free parking??? Indoors with all of the black curtains and black booths was not my cup of tea. Being a vegan is a bright spot in my life with many colors of veg and happiness. Black was depressing. Other than that, I loved going, even when it was so packed you could barely move. Loved the vendors! read more

Thank you to Indy Veg Fest for welcoming Southside Animal Shelter to it's event! We are happy to share our shelters no -kill mission, and are so happy that Nacho the Chihuahua found his forever home. The food, atmosphere and people were fantastic! read more