Bristol Vegan Fayre 2009

[robb]

The beer tent even had a sign that said "(non vegan) Magners" so they knew what they were doing. Very disappointing.

[Risker]

I queried the mayo at the fish and chips stall, they didn't seem very sure about it so I didn't take any, I suspect it may have been egg mayo though.

[Marrers]

Flippin' hell.

[sandra]

Should that sort of thing be allowed at a 'Vegan' fayre?

I thought the whole point of it was to enable vegans to have a nice day out and enjoy themselves without having to do the usual worrying about whether something is vegan or not!

[BlackCats]

That is really aggravating that there was non-vegan stuff sold there.

The fayre looks great. I am definitely going to go next year.

[Risker]

Should that sort of thing be allowed at a 'Vegan' fayre?

I thought the whole point of it was to enable vegans to have a nice day out and enjoy themselves without having to do the usual worrying about whether something is vegan or not!

It's not allowed, part of the T&C is no non vegan stuff but there's always some idiots.

[robb]

Maybe the person serving on the "fish" stall was just a casual employee and didn't know. So I don't want to jump to any conclusions without hearing from the organisers.

But if it was all supposed to be vegan (which of course would make sense, and was what I was expecting) then I'd say that the organisers had a responsibility to ensure that vendors stuck to this (e.g. by looking at what they were selling). The "(non vegan) Magners" sign was pretty obvious...

On the other hand, maybe we had a responsibility to report these "offences" to them. And I know I didn't.

[Risker]

I'm jumping to conclusions about the mayo, it may well have been vegan. I also saw the magners being sold and should have said something about it tbh. Dunno who I should have told though.

[robb]

I guess someone in the organisers' tent (ironically almost next to the beer tent). But it didn't occur to me either. It was the only definitely non-vegan thing I saw (I hoped the perfomers' feather were fake) and since it was marked (and I wasn't interested in drinking it) it didn't really occur to me to do anything about it. Although I was somewhat surprised...

[Frank]

On the other hand, maybe we had a responsibility to report these "offences" to them. And I know I didn't.

There's only a handful of those guys - and a couple of thousand of us punters.

That could have been a deliberate act to make money out of a non vegan product (magners).

Yes - it should have been reported to any of the organisers running around with clearly visible body signage.

The mayo - that eatery was run by manchester vegans i think - so unlikely to be non vegan.

[robb]

Fair points. But I never knowingly saw anyone running around with clearly visible body signage, maybe precisely because there were only a handful of those guys - and a couple of thousand of us punters.

However, I still don't think it would have been unreasonable to expect one of them to have done a quick circuit to check everything on sale was vegan. There weren't than many stalls. And some non-vegan products (such as the Magners) were clearly marked as such, and so would have easily been spotted.

But I'm not an organiser, I'm just a punter, so what do I know..?

[Frank]

At the end of the day - all this feedback goes into the pot and helps make the next festival or event a better one - and I know that's what the Bristol guys strive to do.

But none of us are perfect so we are only going to make things better by working together.

I'm just hoping that there will be a BVF 2010 - so lets keep our fingers crossed for that

[robb]

Definitely.

I'll even volunteer to be a Special Constable in the "Vegan Police".

[Frank]

I'll even volunteer to be a Special Constable in the "Vegan Police".

The more eyes and ears out there working the better I reckon.

Thanks for organising that club on the boat btw. That was a great night out. Did we all end up paying a fiver in the end?

That one DJ was a different class to the others. You got a list of the DJ's that night?

[veganbikerboy]

Definitely.

I'll even volunteer to be a Special Constable in the "Vegan Police".

I believe Destiny has a photo of me with the vegan police

[robb]

Dave (does he have a forum name?) said he thought everyone had settled up but I was going to PM those who paid to get in to double-check.

The only list I have is the flyer. Who was it that you liked?

[Gorilla]

At the end of the day - all this feedback goes into the pot and helps make the next festival or event a better one - and I know that's what the Bristol guys strive to do.

But none of us are perfect so we are only going to make things better by working together.

true, but it's not the first time there's been non-vegan products on sale at Bristol Vegan Fayre. the organisers were somewhat hostile to the criticism in the past. i'm disappointed to hear it was allowed to happen again.

[Marrers]

It's not allowed, part of the T&C is no non vegan stuff but there's always some idiots.

So has this really never happened at any of the previous fayres? If not I wonder why it did (and in more than one place) at this one.

[Gorilla]

(i just posted) it has happened in previous years when i've been there, and the response of the organisers wasn't exactly helpful.

[Risker]

^ What she said. It does happen every year.

[Marrers]

i just posted in the other thread

You did post it here - sorry, we posted at the same time so I hadn't seen it.

I find this very shocking actually. (The organiser was extremely rude and abusive to someone I know who made a criticism about the Brighton fayre.)

[Frank]

The only list I have is the flyer. Who was it that you liked?

The one that was on when I went downstairs.

Now this could take some time....

I guess pm me their details and I will check them out on the web.

[Gorilla]

You did post it here - sorry, we posted at the same time so I hadn't seen it.

I find this very shocking actually. (The organiser was extremely rude and abusive to someone I know who made a criticism about the Brighton fayre.)

oops, i was reading both Bristol threads at the same time and couldn't remember which one i'd posted in (should've just scrolled up).

considering the first time i know of it happening was four years ago you'd think they'd have managed to make sure it was all actually vegan by now.

[cobweb]

that's really bad, and really, really, weird about the non-vegan stuff!
wtf!??

[robb]

The one that was on when I went downstairs.

Cheeba was on when I decided to stay downstairs. He had a VJ doing visuals for him. I think his set ended with "Super Sharp Cheeba". (I'm guessing this is who you're thinking of...)

Strictly Kev (DJ Food) was on next. Again had someone doing visuals. Opened with some outer-space visuals, I think.

Eddy Temple-Morris was on last. Some visuals were still running, but he didn't really have a VJ.

Hope that helps...

[Clare...]

I'm jumping to conclusions about the mayo, it may well have been vegan. I also saw the magners being sold and should have said something about it tbh. Dunno who I should have told though.

'Something Fishy' the fisch and chip stall is run by ethical vegans so I am 100% sure that any mayo they used would have been vegan. Their profits go to causes such as their local ar group.

[Ruby Rose]

^ But the Veggies van last year had tomato ketchup with milk in it - and they're also ethical. (I did point it out, and got a scathing "yeah" from the bloke in the van).

[Clare...]

^ But the Veggies van last year had tomato ketchup with milk in it - and they're also ethical. (I did point it out, and got a scathing "yeah" from the bloke in the van).

If they did and you have evidence of that, then it shows that pretty much anyone can make a mistake and I would be amazed that they didn't remove it straight away.

Is there any concrete evidence that Something Fishy had non-vegan mayo because it is really unfair to start criticising groups before getting all the facts in hand and giving them a chance to respond.

Catering is not easy, both those vegan groups work really hard not for profit, and casual remarks can be really damaging.

[Risker]

You're right clare, like I said I was just making an assumption.

[Ruby Rose]

My comment was not intended as a complaint, nor to be construed as expecting others to avoid this company. My point was that even at a vegan fayre, despite good intentions, nothing is going to be absolutely perfect and there's no point getting aerated about it as some posters appeared to be doing.

[Zero]

I queried the mayo at the fish and chips stall, they didn't seem very sure about it so I didn't take any, I suspect it may have been egg mayo though.

May be worth checking however I believe they are run by a vegan group and are loosely connected with Veggies Catering Campaigns from Nottingham (who of course are all vegan).

Promoted by Veggies as "probably the first, and best, mobile vegan fish 'n' chip stall in the world - purveyors of fine quality soya-meat and seaweed since 2008!"

http://www.veggies.org.uk/somethingfishy/

Hopefully it was just some volunteers who couldn't say for sure.

[vegcurry]

Ummm ... if it ain't a vegan Vegan Fair, maybe it needs to be boycotted.

[cobweb]

My comment was not intended as a complaint, nor to be construed as expecting others to avoid this company. My point was that even at a vegan fayre, despite good intentions, nothing is going to be absolutely perfect and there's no point getting aerated about it as some posters appeared to be doing.

blimey, if there is one place on Earth i would imagine would be 'perfect' it would be a vegan fayre
apart from the upset to vegans it sends out a pretty mixed message to would-be vegans if people at a vegan fayre can't even provide 100% vegan catering for 2 days

[vava]

when you are used to checking the ingredients on everything - it is difficult to go somewhere and feel completely relaxed about all the stuff on offer. Knowing there was non vegan stuff at the fayre makes that worse whether the items are labeled non vegan or not. Disappointing that non vegan stuff was allowed especially beer as there were lots of places nearby to get non vegan beer if it was required.

[Ruby Rose]

Ummm ... if it ain't a vegan Vegan Fair, maybe it needs to be boycotted.

I strongly disagree, but you have the right to do whatever you feel is an appropriate response. Maybe we should all come to the Cats do instead?

[vava]

was there non vegan stuff at the brighton one?

[Gorilla]

i don't remember seeing any non-vegan stuff at the Brighton fayre.

i have to agree with cobweb though - vegans don't want to see non-vegan items at what you would hope would be one of the few places in this country you shouldn't have to check the ingredients of everything. it's off-putting to the people who are already vegan and sending out completely the wrong message to non-vegans. labelling Magners as 'non-vegan' is just implying it was too difficult for them to bother stocking vegan cider.

everyone makes mistakes but it doesn't seem the people involved are learning from them.

[Sweetie]

Ah - EmmaP, alisont, Spud Addict and me saw your daughter and talked to her (and her friend) by one of the stalls selling Indian scarves and pens and bells and things! What a lovely girl she is - a credit to you, Sweetie.

Ohhhh thankyou ! She had such a lovely time, she made friends with the little girl from the mehndi stall and spend a lot of time watching that bloke with the £400 blender. I was mostly melting with my Lush friends and trying to trick my stomach into recieving yet another delicious something.

Would love to meet up next year.

[Spud Addict]

Hmmmm ... come to the Bristol Vegan Fayre, now titled ironically.

I remember last year there was one stall selling something non-vegan, and I think a few of us complained about it. You would've thought that they'd have learned from that and been more stringent this year in vetting the stalls and making sure there's nothing non-vegan on sale. Apparently it's had the opposite effect.

Well anyway, it was a good show and was lovely to see everyone, especially meeting Ruby Rose and Bradders for the first time. Would have liked to have seen more peeps but I think that the excessive amounts of food I had finally got to me and we left fairly early.

[Marrers]

was there non vegan stuff at the brighton one?

The venue did all the catering in Brighton, no other food stalls were allowed. There was non vegan condiments like mayo sachets on the table in the restaurant (even though there was vegan mayo being sold on the main floor. ) There may have been other things too, I can't recall if there was a bar there . . . if you really want to know details will be on the Brighton Fayre thread I'm sure.

As an aside my friend was behind someone in the tea queue who was complaining about having to have soya milk and the bloke serving said "I'm not really meant to serve cow's milk but go on, I'll sneak you some from the kitchen." So even if people have strict instructions if the staff aren't vegan themselves it's hard to enforce.

[cobweb]

i just feel shocked because the only vegan fayre type things i've been to were the ones in London (*eek, can't remember what the venue's called, it was ages ago!!*) and they were all run by vegans, catered by vegans, and were simply vegan!.

[Gorilla]

The venue did all the catering in Brighton, no other food stalls were allowed. There was non vegan condiments like mayo sachets on the table in the restaurant (even though there was vegan mayo being sold on the main floor. ) There may have been other things too, I can't recall if there was a bar there . . . if you really want to know details will be on the Brighton Fayre thread I'm sure.

As an aside my friend was behind someone in the tea queue who was complaining about having to have soya milk and the bloke serving said "I'm not really meant to serve cow's milk but go on, I'll sneak you some from the kitchen." So even if people have strict instructions if the staff aren't vegan themselves it's hard to enforce.

there was a bar at the Brighton fayre and i seem to remember they were serving everything they usually had there, including non-vegan drinks. however, i think that's a different situation to Bristol where the organisers have much more influence over who caters it and what they sell, they're not tied to the venue's caterers.

if a company can't be trusted to do everything vegan for one or two days i don't think they should be allowed to come to the fayre.

[cookey]

Cobweb - the events you talk of were probably also attended by mainly vegans.
My support and involvement in the Fayre is based on the idea that it is a Vegan outreach event and as such involves many non vegan people both as employees and visitors. I did make several appeals for people to come and steward throughout the vegan community and I would say that over half of our staff were vegan. But at the last minute when no one else had stepped up, we asked friends who were local and non vegan. They worked really really hard and have now had a positive experience of veganism.
If there was non vegan produce on sale at the fayre then I too am disapointed. I want to be part of something that promotes veganism.
It is made clear to traders before the event, in writting that this is not acceptable.

I'm not sure what the future for Bristol Vegan Fayre is, but I'm glad that so many of you came along and had a good time - it makes the hard work worthwhile.

[Zero]

Thanks to you and the other organizers for this event Cookey, these things are so much work and such a battle to organize at times (based on my experience with the organization of West Midlands Vegan Festival and Veggie Pride UK) especially with the current difficult financial climate, I had a good time at BVF that's the main thing for me.

The only non vegan thing I noticed was the sign "Magners (not vegan)". It is a shame about that but overall it was a positive event

[Ruby Rose]

I also had a good time, Cookey - and I'm really grateful for all the hard work you and the Yaoh team put in.

[Spud Addict]

Likewise Cookey, sorry if the moaning sounded unappreciative. It was a great weekend and we're all very grateful for all the hard work you always put in

[gutts]

My support and involvement in the Fayre is based on the idea that it is a Vegan outreach event and as such involves many non vegan people both as employees and visitors.

Well, I can give you some non-Vegan feedback (my family are a mix of vegetarians and omnis) which is that the Fayre was great. My dad (who is about as far from Vegan as one could be) is now hooked on vege burgers, which I've gladly stocked him up with.

Personally, I didn't notice much non-Vegan stuff there, and even what I did notice didn't really bother me since I realised straight away that some of the caterers were non-Vegans. It's good that they got some exposure to Veganism, hopefully.

I'm not sure what the future for Bristol Vegan Fayre is, but I'm glad that so many of you came along and had a good time - it makes the hard work worthwhile.

Thanks for helping to make it happen - I'd definitely come back and I'd be confident to bring omni friends to introduce them to Veganism on a nice day out.

"... it's a shame you have to be on guard for non-Vegan produce at a Vegan fayre." I realise I sound a little butt hurt there, so I'd like to make it clear that I'm not wetting the bed over any of this. I, and the people I went with, overwhelmingly had a great time. I cannot overstate that enough. The organisers and volunteers are heroes, and since I didn't help make the event happen I don't feel it's my place to be over-critical about things I have no knowledge of. FWIW, I really hope these events continue, and get better with more involvement from the Vegan community.

Keep up the good work!

gutts

[bradders]

just found this thread

Had a great time the whole weekend, good meeting people (thanks CW I like my hair arrangement like this too)
I must say I didn't notice any none vegan stuff being sold but did see people walking around with magners and assumed that people had snook the stuff in.
I really hope it goes ahead next time and appreciate that it was a low turnout, good old credit crunch eh?
I do like the outreach principle and there were a number of omnis there (got talked at by one of them on the coach back to civilization) and if they see the food choice out there, hear about the health issues and the ethical reasons then maybe it will at least make people think and having good music like this year is a great way to get them in. Also at least while they are there they're eating and drinking vegan too so reducing animal cruelty even in a small way, has to be a good thing.

P.S. vbb, the reason there were few stewards visable was you were persisting with one for the best part of four hours!

[cobweb]

well don't get me wrong i think vegan fayres are fantastic events, and seeing a 'non-vegan' cider wouldn't exactly scar me for life, i just think it's a shame that it happens, is all.
I would certainly go along to any vegan events going if i lived nearer to the action.

[Big Good Wolf]

I was one of the vegan volunteer stewards.

Regarding the comment that we weren't very visible, well, it's not like we needed a line of bouncers across the front of the stage to keep the crowd under control.
We were around and we were wearing hi-viz waistcoats.
Like any event, if you want to find the organisers, head for the gate and there will be someone there who can get hold of them.

As for the non-vegan food & drink, if you rent a house you have to pay a cleaning deposit, refundable only if the house is in a clean condition when you move out.
How about a "vegan deposit" for stall holders. Double the cost of a stall, then give a 50% discount after the event if they prove to be totally vegan.

Too much spicy food for my liking. Nothing against it, but there didn't seem to be much choice. Mexican, Carribean, Middle Eastern & Far Eastern, but all spicy.
I was there all weekend, so I would have appreciated some plain, simple filling food.
Porridge, Tartex on toast, mashed potato with sausages & beans...Maybe that's just me though.

One personal experience; I was helping some of the stall holders pack away at the end. A couple of them gave us left over food to share out which was really nice of them.
I helped the girl from the henna tattoo stall by carrying a heavy bag out to her car. As I loaded it in I teased her by saying "Hey, are those leather seats ?"
She just said "I don't give a shit and I eat meat as well"
Stuff like that doesn't really bother me, but I thought it showed a remarkable difference in attitude between the vegan companies who were so grateful for our help in loading and gladly gave us free food to share in return, and someone who just expected me to do her heavy work.

These are all just my personal comments. I don't represent Bristol Vegan Fayre any more than I represent veganforum.

Finally, a request.
Did anyone get a picture of my Pale Skinny Vegan T shirt and, if so, could you post it here, post it somewhere else and link to it, or email it to me please.