May 2, 2016 - Los Angeles VegFest Recap

Tanya's Daily Scoop
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A Los Angeles VegFest Recap

I'm actually okay with Mondays.
Sure I enjoy the weekends better - because I'm a such an über busy-bee and I tend to really pack in the fun over the weekend.

But Monday's really don't get me down, plus I always look forward to the new week that's ahead and my at-home (and around town) routine. 

Starting early today there are lots of chores and errands for me to get to, and then off to choir rehearsal for the kids later on tonight, along with a Board Meeting for us Board members.

All in all, it'll definitely be a more mellow day than the very full weekend that we are coming off of.

Yesterday was good fun, spent over at the LA VegFest in Van Nuys, CA.

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What was once known as World Fest LA, is now the LA VegFest. We were finally there and we were super stoked and mega hungry upon our arrival.

After the hassle of finally getting there (more on this below) we made our way onto the festival grounds.
And right off the bat the very first thing I spotted was the souvenir booth. I actually found the tees to be kinda cute, so of course I had to grab one!

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Happy with my tee shirt, we walked a bit further into the festival and to the food court.
​Trying to decide what we felt like sinking our teeth into first. But quickly realizing that the lines were all out of control!!!

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Eventually Dominic decided that he wanted to try Dogtown Hot Dogs, and so there we stood, and stood, and stood. Waited and waited. Luckily and early on I figured that we should split our efforts and stand in 2 lines.

It just so happened that the next line over was India Jones (cool name guys) and we all know how much Dave LOVES his Indian food.
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At first the kids stood with me, but we had the most annoying people behind us, having a conversation that they felt needed to be shared with everyone else in line, and well they were just really bugging me.
​Eventually more of their friends joined up with them and at first the conversation actually mellowed out...but then it got worse. Much worse! TMI type of worse!
So without being prompted, Cosette decided to go stand in line with Dave!

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Then after what was probably a 45 minute (at least) wait, it was finally our turn. And have you know, that while we were there standing in line, the vendor was running out of menu items - we crossed our fingers that they still had food by the time we got to the front of line.

We also noticed other food trucks and booths running out of food and closing up shop!
Keep in mind that it was around 2:30p-3pm, when the event went until 6:30pm!!!

I guess it goes to show the Vegan Momentum and just how popular these events are getting!

So anyhow, we got our food and took a break from the lines. The only issue was that Cosette wanted Pizza, and the pizza line was another LONG one. So I convinced her to share the Hot Dogs, Taters, and Indian food sampler plate...Check out more FOODIE pics on my VEGANFOODGASMS Instagram page

Buffalo Tater Tots (c)travelincousins.com

Luckily she did, because once we finished munching away, we headed for the pizza booth, only to find out that they had just SOLD OUT! UGH

2x winner of Cupcake Wars (c)travelincousins.com

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But that didn't sway any of us from having a good time!

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And then we decided that we'd share some Grilled Cheese sandwiches instead. And cross our fingers that they didn't run out of food while we stood in another LONG line!

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It's the HappyCow (c)travelincousins.com

After all the food, and before heading out, we wondered the rest of the fun booths, and the pet rescue area. Never making it to the music stage, cooking demos or the conference tent.
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There was definitely plenty to do at this fun green-powered festival and plenty to keep busy with! 

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Now let me tell you that getting there was another story....and on the side of miserable;
There was just such a beastly amount of traffic - the entire way there. Literally everywhere we went was pretty much bumper to bumper. Traffic is just getting worse and worse around these parts!

In Fact, DID YOU KNOW:
For the second year in a row, Los Angeles topped the list for the worst gridlock in the country, according to an annual traffic index by navigation system maker, TomTom.
Drivers in the city of angels see overall congestion at about 40%. That number doubles during evening rush hour...
Which we all know is well more than an hour!

So once we were all done with standing in long lines at the Festival and we were about to head back to the OC, and back on the road, I thought it was time for a little treat.
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​About a ten minute drive from the festival site is good 'ol Hugo's Taco stand, where they offer several vegan options - one of them being Frozato - a dairy free, deliciously creamy, house-made, non-dairy soft serve-like frozen dessert! YUM!

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Yup, I'm THAT gal who will go get something to eat right after going to a food festival! 

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And that was our fun day at the LA VegFest!

Lastly, I do want to give KUDOS to the organizers and volunteers working the event.
Everything on site was quite organized and stayed that way; Plus these peeps were more helpful and definitely more knowledgeable than volunteers at "other" events.

Gotta go now.
Hope to see you back here tomorrow,
​-T

Elisa's Daily Scoop

Howdy Folks!!! Happy first Monday in May!!

My girls started off their day with their Spring uniforms.  Ugh - of course, Kelsey remembered she had to bring in "coupons" to school for a project, so this morning we left a bit early and headed over to Stop & Shop to get a circular.  

I am just Mom's Taxi.  Well, everyone knows I wouldn't have it any other way!

​Well, I apologize in advance, but this is going to be a short one.  Have some "personal" business to attend to this morning.  

Yesterday, Tanya spent her day at Veg Fest in L.A.  I spoke to her last night (well, we actually texted) while she was still battling lines and crowds!

She will certainly have lots to tell us today about her day, so DEFINITELY check out her blog today.

All this talk about VEG FESTS, and I thought it would be fun to tell you about Veg Fests going on around the country this month. 

Among a few other days, May 7th is a big day with four events going on...

New Hampshire Veg Fest 2016
Saturday, May 7th  - 9AM
1066 Front Street
Manchester, NH

Cleveland Veg Fest 2016
Saturday, May 7th - 9AM
Cleveland Convention Center
300 Lakeside Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio

New York Vegetarian Food Festival
Saturday, May 7th - 11AM
Metroplitan Pavillion
125 West 18th Street
New York, NY

New Orleans Veggie Fest
Saturday, May 7th & Sunday, May 8th - 11AM
Kingsley House
1600 Constance Street
New Orleans, LA

Asheville Veg Fest
Sunday, May 15th - 10AM
Pack Square Park
Asheville, NC


I am bummed that I don't think I can go to the NYC Veg Fest due to conflicting horseback riding schedules (insert sad face).  

Well, folks, going to let Tanya take the lead today, filling you in with much more information!!!

Have a good one!!

-E
xoxo