Magic and stand-up comedy will be part of the buffet at the sixth annual New York City Vegetarian Food Festival, popping up at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan on May 7-8.
Ivan Stratienco, of Insane Illusions, will give Festival attendees a taste of his sleight of hand skills and magic tricks. The illusionist has more than 10 years experience performing in the tri-state area at both intimate parties and large-scale gatherings.
Meanwhile,
Myq Kaplan will return for his second Festival appearance. He is a 2010 Last Comic Standing finalist who has also appeared on the Tonight Show with
Conan O'Brien, the Late Show with
David Letterman, and Comedy Central Presents. His debut CD, Vegan Mind Meld, was one of iTunes' top ten best-selling comedy albums in 2010, followed by Meat Robot in 2013, and his one-hour Netflix special Small Dork and Handsome in 2014.
Both of the entertainers happen to be vegan, which will put them right at home at the Festival. Over a hundred vegan vendors will be on hand, as well as plant-based chefs, physicians, professional athletes, and inspiring speakers.
The Festival is founded and presented by U.S. Veg Corp. The event-planning company has also branched out to Scottsdale, Arizona with the AZ Vegetarian Food Festival, and it plans to launch the CA Vegetarian Food Festival later this year in the Los Angeles area.
U.S. Veg Corp co-founder Sarah Gross said the purpose for staging all of these events is to inject a maximum of fun into living a humane lifestyle. "We vegans used to have such a serious and militant stereotype," she said. "And non-vegans thought we had to be masochistic to deny ourselves all those animal-based foods that are so much a part of the American diet. Our aim is to show that exactly the opposite is true."
New York's Festival will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both days. Attendees can expect to snag free food samples from such exhibitors as Rescue Chocolate, Pure Genius Provisions, Beyond Sushi, Pilot Kombucha, and many others.
They can also watch cooking demonstrations from celebrity chefs including Jenne Claiborne, Isabelle Steichen, Jay Astafa, Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby.
Among the high-powered physicians scheduled to speak about their research into the health benefits of a vegan diet are Garth Davis,
Thomas Campbell, Robert Ostfeld, and Michael Greger.
Festival-goers with young children should also plan to check out the Kumquat Kids Area where there will be story-telling, arts and crafts, and family entertainment. "Kids should also have fun learning about the importance of sustainable living so those ages 10 and under are always free," says U.S. Veg Corp co-founder Nira Paliwoda.
For more information about the Festival or to purchase tickets, go to http://nycvegfoodfest.com/.
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