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The West Midlands has been hit by a wave of vegetarian/veganism during 2005, with free food fairs taking place in Solihull, Coventry and Redditch and our regions first ever vegan festival(Realfood`s Heart of England Vegan Festival ) was held in Birmingham in June. With active vegan groups also springing up all over the place, cruelty-free folk in Leamington Spa were keen to get in on the action!

Leamington Veggies & Vegans was born, a small group intent on spreading the word about healthy, animal-free diets that are better for people, animals & the planet. Less than 2 months before Xmas, LVV hastily set about organising a Festive Food Fair at what is undoubtedly the best venue in town - Bath Place Community Venture. We had high hopes that our festive feast would pull in the crowds, but nothing could prepare us for the sheer numbers that attended.

The fair was held one week before Christmas on Saturday 17th December. Throughout the day, aspiring veggies & vegans jostled for position as they queued & made their way to our banquet of delicious delights. Food on offer included onion bhajees, nut roast, pizza, sausages, quiche, burgers, dairy-free ice cream, a range of irrestistible cakes and lots more. Our volunteers worked flat out cooking food & replenishing empty platters time and time again, struggling to keep up with demand! Thanks to the constant stream of people, the 8-9 tables set aside for them to sit and enjoy their food, were not enough to cope and consequently, many people were forced to remain standing!

A vast array of literature was displayed on 2 tables. There were free recipes for many of the dishes available at the fair, health and nutrition factsheets, and many leaflets detailing the environmental destruction, global hunger and animal suffering caused by the meat and dairy industries.

The fair boasted cookery demos split into 3 sessions at intervals through the day - starters, main courses and dessert. Liz Hughes (pictured) of Birmingham Veggies & Vegans expertly demonstrated how to cook delicious vegan dishes such as Mushroom & artichokes en croute and Soft caramel blackcherry bombe with hot chocolate sauce! Well away from the main, busy hall, at each session, 15-20 people sat listening and watching intently as mouthwatering, festive meals were prepared infront of their eyes. Thanks to `some we made earlier`, everyone was given the opportunity to sample the various dishes.

Other attractions included stalls selling lots of cruelty-free goodies ie vegan chocolate, books, cosmetics & toiletries, clothing, Christmas cards, badges and lots more. Groups holding stalls included The Vegan Society, Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research and Leamington`s very own ethical, wholefood shop Gaia had their own stall selling a range of their stock. Several alternative therapists offered relaxing treatments including indian head massage, shiatsu, crystal healing, reiki etc. A creche operated in a seperate room throughout the day, and kept the little ones busy, whilst their parents enjoyed the event. Childrens activities included a Fruity Faces Food Workshop and a Popcorn Making Workshop, both of which were thoroughly enjoyed by a dozen or more young children.

It was impossible to keep track of numbers through the door, but we estimate over 500 people attended. Well over a hundred filled in our questionnaire, many have pledged to change their diet for the better and dozens wish to join LVV. Several producers of veggie/vegan food, very generously donated large amounts of their products - we`re very grateful to Redwoods Wholefoods, Beanies Health Foods and Suma. Thanks to these and other food donations from various individuals, and well over £200 of donations on the day, we have actually made profit!! This will be ploughed into running LVV, including organising food fairs at least every 6 months.

We would particularly like to thank Redditch Vegetarians and Vegans. Not only did they provide alot of the food for the event, but a total of 6 RVV members helped us on the day. We followed the RVV guide to organising a food fair, which helped make our fair the success it was.

We would advise any group wanting to promote veganism, to organise a free food fair in your town. With a good venue & plenty of volunteers, you simply can`t go wrong, and you may even make money!!