America’s Largest Vegetarian Festival Returns This Weekend

This weekend, the country’s largest vegetarian festival returns for its 9th annual celebration of all things veg. Veggie Fest 2014—held in Naperville, IL outside Chicago—is expecting 25,000 attendees for an international food court, educational lectures, vegetarian vendors, cooking demonstrations, live music, an art show, and children’s activities. The chef lineup includes Chicago vegan restaurateur Karyn Calabrese, cookbook authors Alan Roettinger and Ellen Jaffe Jones, and raw nutritionist Lynda Carter, and attendees will be able to nosh on everything from Caribbean cusine and Coney Island hot dogs to Indian masala dosas, Japanese sushi, and Mexican tostadas at the food court. Veggie Fest 2014 also offers a Vegetarian Challenge where the veg-curious can sign up for a two-week, plant-based program with online support, recipes, and a take-home goodie bag.