SLIDESHOW: New England VegFest Thrives at Worcester's DCU

WORCESTER, MA — There was a line that spanned the full length of the exhibition hall. The thing was longer than waiting for Studio 54 in the '70s. It was all for vegan baked goods.

The company - Vegan Treats Bakery - came all the way from the Philadelphia, PA, area to join the vendors at New England VegFest 2016, held on Sunday, May 1, at the DCU Center.

At the other end, Like No Udder had quite the wait for those eager for an icy, non-dairy treat. Belmont Vegetarian and Loving Hut was dishing out the food as fast as possible, and Chickpea was one of many places that ran out of food.

They were one of many vendors and exhibitors that drew a from a crowd of thousands buzzing about the exhibition hall with tables that featured vegan food, health and beauty products, clothing and animal welfare organizations and a lot more. Expert speakers included Emily Moran Barwick and Lorelei Plotczyk.

"New England VegFest 2016 was our largest most inspiring vegfest yet," said Manda Rose Hendrickson, co-founder, New England VegFest. "Our VegWorcester organizing team is continually blown away by the response from the community, and the dedication and passion of our volunteers and presenters. This year we had over more than 100 exhibitors with tasty vegan food samples, meals, products and merchandise for sale and feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive."

Aunty G's served up ice cream and Indian fusion, Good from Grown handed out samples of its vegetarian spreads, dips and fillings, WayFare handed out Non GMO vegan cream "cheese," and Vermont Botanical Beverages served up perhaps the freshest juice that ever existed.

Welfare organizations that attended included Friends of Save the Chimps, Peace Ridge Sanctuary, the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Mass. Coalition Against Puppy Mills.

Starting in 2010 as Worcester VegFest at Worcester State College, then moving briefly to the Worcester Airport, the event has grown exponentially, showing not only a conscious shift toward kindness to animals and the environment, but as an event that is simply fun beyond its cause.

Photos by Charlene Arsenault