The festival atmosphere provides a markedcontrast to the normal milieu of Lee Park. An aroma of chickpea curry mixed with kettle corn and coffee, the press of hundreds of bodies and the buzz of myriad conversations forces one to forget he or she is in a park normally populated by pigeons and the occasional midday napper.
A multitude of white tents provides shelter from the sun for vendors and visitors alike. Between the restaurant displays and booths selling organic snacks, a boy preforms magic tricks with a deck of playing cards. Down the aisle from the aspiring magician, visitors get free henna tattoos. Throngs of people saunters through the aisles munching on free samples and talking to vendors about protein supplement options and new recipes.
The Charlottesville Vegetarian Festival was the main event downtown last weekend -- for locals and students alike.
Although Dining Services offers vegetarian alternatives, many vegetarian students do not know which restaurants and shops in Charlottesville cater to them. These students were understandably quite excited when they saw fliers announcing the "Annual Charlottesville Vegetarian Festival."
"Yeah, I was really excited when I saw the posters," said third-year Engineering student Parixit Mehrotra, who resumed vegetarianism this past year. "I really wanted to find some new restaurants with good vegetarian entrees."
This annual festival, now in its seventh year, was held Sept. 27 in Lee Park, which is one block north of the Downtown Mall.
Many local restaurants and vegetarian food companies offer free samples of their products to passersby, a bargain for a festival that had no admission charge. Organic, Gluten Free, No Gelatin Vegan Kid [gummy] Bears, from Kid Care; SoyNut Butter from I.M. Health and a selection of teas from Traditional Medicinals were some of the free snacks provided.
Many vendors sold vegetarian cookbooks and subscriptions to vegetarian magazines. One booth distributed free copies of this month's "Vegetarian Times." According to the vendor at this booth, the magazine is aimed at vegetarians but has plenty of recipes that meat eaters will love too.
The festival also provided live music throughout the day. All told, five singers performed: Jan Smith, Grasping at Laws, Robin Baker, Mark Goldstein and Lauren Hoffman.
According to the Festival's Web site (http://www.cvillevegfest.org/), more than 100 exhibitors and 8,000 guests participated in the event, making this one of the largest vegetarian festivals in the country. Some of the local exhibitors this year included: The Taj Mahal, Ming Dynasty, Baja Rapido, Expresso-A-Go-Go and Integral Yoga Natural Foods. Although many vendors featured sensible vegetarian options, others perpetuated a hackneyed idea of a vegetarian lifestyle.
This alternative-lifestyle theme disappointed some.
"I think that the organizers lost their vision and focused too heavily on a vegetarian lifestyle and not heavily enough on foods that do not contain meat," third-year College student Matt Marsille said. Marsille, a vegetarian since his first year, also felt that too few of the restaurants offered free samples.
Very few students attended the event. The vast majority of visitors were couples in their late 30s or early 40s. Many of these couples brought with them small children, who seemed to run around the park with interminable energy.
Another association involved in the organization of the event was Voices for Animals. Consequently, nearly half of the festival grounds were devoted to stray animal adoption kiosks.
The focus on animal adoption also bothered some visitors.
"Animal adoption has no place in a vegetarian festival," said third-year Engineering student and lifelong vegetarian Parth Thaker. "Western culture assumes if you are a vegetarian you are a tree-hugger...and an animal rights activist." Thaker thought the festival pandered to this stereotype and did not teach people much about vegetarianism.
After he left, Mehrotra seemed disappointed too.
"It was very underwhelming," said Mehrotra. "I thought that [the festival] would expose the public to a wide variety of vegetarian foods. Actually, there was very little variety." Mehrotra went on to explain that while many snacks were provided, very few entrees could be sampled for free. "I thought I would leave the festival with a full belly, but I left hungry, " he said.
Although some patrons were left wanting more, most of the attendees appeared to be enjoying themselves. Couples strolled through the aisles and little kids strained against their parents grip to play with the dogs and cats. Everyone seemed to love getting out of the house on a sunny day and meeting new people or reminiscing with old friends over meatless burritos and vegetarian curries.
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