Bethlehem Vegfest 2012

I can’t wait to introduce you to Samantha Schwartz, one of the key organizers and masterminds behind the 2012 Bethlehem Vegfest! She is behind the scenes at the Downtown Bethlehem Association and has some insight into this year’s event.

Bethlehem VegFest was a huge success last year, is there anything new you added to this year’s event?
Last year’s Festival was amazing. We anticipated having approximately 4,000 people in attendance and we were blown away with the 10,000 person crowd that came to support the great event! We are excited to bring back all 19 “corners” of the Festival. Each section of the Festival ranges from cooking demos, to vegan and organic crafters and retailers, to health conscious companies with information for the public, animal rescue group education and event a green technology “corner” to educate the public about the most earth-conscious way to live! This year we have added free bicycle parking for anyone who bikes to the Festival! The Coalition for Alternative Transportation(CAT), will be hosts bike racks for parking and they will watch your bike for the entire time you are at the Festival for free! We are also working on prizes for people who bike to VegFest! We are also going to have a live yoga class and body boot camp class that will be free to take for Festival-goers!

Who do you think should come to VegFest?
We think that anyone who likes nature, to be active, who wants to learn about the vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, people who enjoy to shop local, and individuals who want to experience a completely different type of Festival (one in which no meat exists!)! Last year we had people of all ages, from first born to seniors attending the Festival and there was an amazing atmosphere of education and fun!

If you had to pick just one, what’s your favorite Veggie?
Broccoli… LOVE it!

There are some great speakers at this years event, can you tell us about one of them?
Yes! We are excited to have Victoria Moran, author of “Main St Vegan.” Victoria Moran has been a Main Street Vegan for almost 30 years and is the bestselling author of eleven books, including Creating a Charmed Life (in 30 languages around the world) and the plant-based weight loss classic, The Love-Powered Diet. Her college thesis became Compassion the Ultimate Ethic: An Exploration of Veganism, originally published in 1985 and the first work on vegan philosophy and practice to come from a major publisher. Victoria is also an inspirational speaker and monologist, a corporate spokesperson, certified holistic health counselor (HHC, AADP), and founder of Main Street Vegan Academy, training and certifying vegan lifestyle coaches.

Anything else people should know about VegFest?
Yes! We encourage everyone to follow the “Veganize Me!” blog. Documenting a meat-eating man’s experience on becoming a vegan for an entire month! 

You’ve got to mark your calendar and come to this year’s Vegfest! Samantha her team of Bethlehem Vegfest organizers are going to make this year’s event spectacular. Oh, and there’s one more thing you should know!! Dr. Bentson has been asked to take that Meat-Loving Veganize Me Man through the Vegan Version of YouAnew Foundation Plan and Core Programs!  Follow his journey and plan to check out his final reveal. This is an event you just can’t miss, and the YouAnew Crew can’t wait to meet you there!