It was a rainy Saturday morning and after a late night spent at the warehouse unpacking a new shipment of sneakers, we awoke and made our way West. This past Saturday was our very first Worcester Vegetarian Festival. Vegetarian Festivals are always a good time and we often sponsor them, such as the Boston and Richmond Vegetarian Festivals. Who wouldn’t want to spend their Saturday with free food samples, live music, and fashion?! We lucked out with this event, as it was only miles from Boston and still had a great turnout. Plus their stylish Veg Worcester shirts are supplied by a Fair Trade Fashion company you may have heard of. 
It was held at the Student Center on the Worcester State College, however, the event attracted people of all ages in Central Massachusetts. Luckily, we were instead, as a New England storm raged outside, still not keeping people away. We met a few loyal AP fans as well as new faces and had a chance to talk to local vegetarian communities. The booth next to us was a great organization called Worcester Earn A Bike, which is a local non-profit providing education on bicycle safety and maintenance and allows people to earn a bike through volunteer service. Plus they gave us a neat bike patch!
In another room, live local bands and speakers filled the day with entertainment and education. Also, in this room were many local vegan and vegetarian restaurants with free samples. We enjoyed samples of free mock meats form Buddha Hut and stir fry from other local spots. However, much to our disappointment we missed the free vegan Jamaican/Soul food samples from Belmont Vegetarian Restaurant. Luckily, the owner, who is very nice and excited about veganism, stopped by our booth. We decided to make a detour by their restaurant before heading back to the city. The spot is a little take-out joint with a couple of tables to eat in. The menu items change daily and you are able to order from 1 to 5 dishes in small, medium, or large. Examples of menu offerings include Pepper “Steak” Tofu, Vegan Mac ‘n Cheese, and Curry “Chicken.” Since we had been working all day (and up all night the night before), we decided to get a couple of mediums to go and headed back to Boston. We ended up trying the Vegan Lasagna, BBQ “Chicken,” and Veggie Stew with Rice. Even though the flavors seemed as if they wouldn’t normally go together, they were delicious and a nice array of what the restaurant offers. The BBQ “Chicken” was unique and delightful and all three dishes really hit the spot after a long day at work. We highly recommend stopping by the Belmont Vegetarian Restaurant next time you are in Worcester, heck, it is even worth a trip out there!
With our bellies full of vegan delights from Belmont, we headed back to Boston. We sure enjoyed everything about the Worcester Vegetarian Festival! It as nice to catch up with AP fans and meet new folks. We are excited for next year’s Worcester Vegetarian Festival and look out for us at our next big veg fest in Richmond, VA in June! We can’t wait to meet everyone and of course eat all the yummy food!
-Gina Williams & Jeremy Pearson
