Yelp Throws Omaha’s First-Ever Vegan Festival

Popular business review site Yelp hosted Omaha, NE’s first vegan festival last week at craft cocktail bar and music venue House of Loom. Yelp’s Un-Meat Eats Festival welcomed 250 yelpers to sample vegan food from local vendors with offerings such as cashew-based cheese and kale chips from High Vibe Cafe, currywurst from Blatt Beer Table, burgers from B&G Tasty Foods, hot dogs from Fauxmaha, mushroom tacos from Cantina Laredo, dairy-free cheesecake from Vegan Mouth, and popsicles from Stickalicious. “From the tacos to the hot dogs to the cheesecake to the cocktails and more, all animal products were left off the table,” Yelp’s Omaha community manager and event organizer Will Simmons said. After the event, Yelpers took to the site to rave about the success of the city’s first cruelty-free fest. “I was a little nervous with it being all vegan food,” yelper Vanessa M. says, “but I was keeping an open mind. I surprisingly loved everything I tried.” In addition to bringing together a community of vegans and the vegan-curious in a city known for its steaks, the event raised $1,100 for local no-kill animal shelter Homeward Bound In The Heartland. Simmons says that the success of this year’s event means the it will return in 2017.