Asbury Park Vegan Food Festival returns May 18 and 19
The Asbury Park Vegan Food Festival returns to the City by the Sea next month, with more than 150 vendors offering plant-based food and products taking over Bradley Park and Atlantic Square Park.
The festival is organized by Kendra Arnold and Marisa Sweeney, who hosted the first New Jersey VegFest in North Jersey in 2016. Several thousand people showed up, and the event spurred the addition of festivals in Asbury Park and Atlantic City.
The Asbury Park festival takes place Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19. Now in its third year, the event has nearly doubled in size: between 8,000 and 10,000 attendees are expected.
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“We’ve only had the Asbury Park Vegan Food Festival in Bradley Park twice so far, and both times, even with not the best weather, it’s grown exponentially,” Sweeney said in a news release. “We did it in 2022, and then 2023 was significantly bigger with both vendors and attendees, and we just realized that if we want to continue to allow this to grow at the pace that it’s just organically growing, we would need the extra space.”
Vendors include Betty's Icebox, Pasquale's Pizza III, Rosa's Kitchen, Two River Mushroom, Cinnaholic, Freakin' Vegan, Mexi-Boys, Culiraw Vegan Cheesecake, Indian Vegan Kitchen, Little Loaf Bakeshop and dozens more. The festival also will feature live music, an outdoor bar, attendance by nonprofit and advocacy organizations, and vendors selling clothing, books and skincare products.
The festivities will continue with afterparties and discounted tickets to shows at Wonder Bar, Fifth and Ocean avenues.
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“Everyone loves Asbury Park,” Arnold said in the release. “There’s so much to do, so much to see, and it’s relaxing at the same time. There’s just something about it that’s unique to Asbury Park. It’s really an amazing city to bring people to.”
Go: Asbury Park Vegan Food Festival, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19, Bradley Park, Fifth and Ocean avenues, and Atlantic Square Park, Fifth Avenue and Kingsley Street, $20 per day or $30 for both days; njvegfest.com.
Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to [email protected], follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to our Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Asbury Park Vegan Food Festival returns to the city in May
