Syracuse vegans build ‘like-minded’ village over ethical goods at Vegfest
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Vegans and vegan-curious onlookers gathered for the seventh annual Syracuse Vegfest on Sunday, brought together by foods absent of any animal byproducts. Hungry visitors waited their turn to sample the festival’s three savory food vendors, trying vegan takes on mac and cheese, buffalo wings and cinnamon rolls, all while browsing through the shelves of Burning Books.
“It’s a great way to dip your foot into a warm, welcoming space,” Helene Greenberg, Vegfest Expos’ executive director, said.
After a 10-year hiatus, the vegan festival returned in 2019, stopping at Syracuse’s Science and Industry Building at the New York State Fairgrounds. Vegfest hosted plant-based vendors like the soul food pop-up Fed By Vegans, American-Australian bakery Nikki’s Bikkies and the Buffalo-based Sunshine Vegan Eats, which specializes in vegan American comfort food.
The festival also included various craft vendors selling items like soy candles, ceramic jewelry and ethically made T-shirts.
An employee at Fed By Vegans serves up plant-based soul food at Vegfest. Other vegan-friendly food vendors included American-Australian bakery Nikki’s Bikkies and Buffalo-based eatery Sunshine Vegan Eats. Sparrow Lieu | Contributing Photographer
Since 2014, Greenberg has assisted in organizing vegan festivals across the United States. She’s also the founder of Triangle Vegfest, a nonprofit based in North Carolina, where she currently lives. When Greenberg first began working with vegan festivals, she said she couldn’t have imagined the profound impact they would have on vegan communities everywhere.
Greenberg has also helped bring Vegfest to areas with little vegan representation, while spreading the word of smaller festivals. This year, Vegfest will stop by other states, like North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia. In 2027, Greenberg is planning her biggest undertaking yet — the revival of Vegfest in Washington, D.C.
“An important piece that’s come into play since COVID is shopping small,” Greenberg said. “(Independent stores) need to keep their doors open, and the best way to do that is to show up at these events and to shop.”
Greenberg hopes the nearly 1,000-person turnout on Sunday reflects the vegan community of Syracuse, especially because local vegan restaurants have been forced to shut their doors, including Strong Hearts Cafe.
Another vegan eatery in the area, Aurora’s Cafe and Gifts, temporarily closed this month as it prepared to move into a bigger location. While its new opening date is still to be determined, Greenberg is hopeful that its reopening will maintain Syracuse’s tight-knit vegan community.
“There’s a misconception that vegan food is gross,” People For Animal Rights representative Jacqueline Cappello said. “You can still get ribs, mac and cheese or nice baked goods.”
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Cappello, 44, has been vegan since 2019 and has advocated for animal rights ever since. At Syracuse’s Vegfest, Cappello advertised People For Animal Rights, promoting the environmental and nutritional benefits of eating vegan. Her table at Vegfest included vegan information booklets, nutrition guides and children’s coloring books to make learning about a vegan lifestyle accessible.
Cappello’s interest in vegan advocacy emerged after receiving her certification in plant-based nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at Cornell University.
“The more I learned about the health benefits and the environmental benefits, the more I kept wanting people to learn about it,” Cappello said.
Greenberg hopes that with free entry, Vegfest is a welcoming environment for vegans and non-vegans alike, accessible to those of all socioeconomic backgrounds.
“Vegans, by nature, are community-driven, like getting together and having a merry time,” Cappello said.
The festival includes vendors of all kinds, from Keith McCullough’s snack bar company Junebar to Christine Volk and Sam Kenney’s vegan podcast “Compassion & Cucumbers.”
On their podcast, Volk and Kenney discuss animal rights and advocacy, vegan-friendly restaurants and how government oppression challenges the vegan community.
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From Italian food to a meatball-eating contest, Festa Italiana hosted its three-day food festival, which has been around since 1998.
“Vegfests are a good break from what’s happening in the world today,” Volk said. “You can hang with some like-minded people.”
Some vegan enthusiasts, like Volk, went all-out for Sunday’s festival. Donning a green cucumber costume, Volk danced through the venue to advertise her podcast to intrigued attendees.
The main goal of Vegfest is to bring the community together and to spread awareness about what veganism accomplishes for the animals and Earth as a whole, Greenberg said. For her, Vegfest also acts as a safe environment for all kinds of people to feel seen and represented — not just vegans.
“Veganism isn’t just food,” Greenberg said. “It’s the intersectionality.”
