VegOut for the next 10 days

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This article was published 02/03/2022 (1653 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg vegan and veg-curious diners will have a glut of options over the next 10 days. VegOut, the second annual food festival hosted by Winnipeg VegFest, kicks off Wednesday with 45 local restaurants participating.

VegFest, a vegan lifestyle festival, has been running since 2016, but has been sidelined by the pandemic over the last two years.

“It’s, of course, been disappointing,” says Shari Block, VegFest’s event co-ordinator. “We wanted to do something to support our local restaurants, uplift our community and continue to encourage people to try out a compassionate lifestyle for themselves.”

The food festival kicks off Wednesday and runs until March 12. Each restaurant has been tasked with coming up with a new vegan menu item for the competition. Diners can order as many specialty dishes as they like and vote for their favourites online. The winner will be announced the Monday after the event closes.

VegOut was originally scheduled to take place in January, which is when “Veganuary” is celebrated around the world, but organizers decided to reschedule amid the Omicron wave.

The festival saw just under 40 restaurants take part last year and Block, who has been vegan for three years, is excited to see more eateries joining in.

“The majority of restaurants have some kind of vegan or plant-based offering now, so it’s a lot easier to find than it has been in year’s past,” she says. “We’re really pleased with the range of restaurants that have joined, there’s something for everyone.”

Participants include year-round veg-forward restaurants, like Roughage, Affinity Vegetarian Garden and The Mighty Kiwi. Dishes include chikken and waffles from Cocoabeans GlutenFree Bakeshop, creamy beet risotto from Sous Sol, Vietnamese veggie soup bowl from YenKitchen and many more.

As in the past, a portion of the restaurant application fees for VegOut will be donated to a local animal sanctuary. This year’s beneficiary is the Rainbow Ranger Station in Anola, Man.

“I love the opportunity to be able to support what those sanctuaries are doing in regards to rescued farm animals,” Block says.

Visit winnipegvegfest.ca/vegout for a full list of participating restaurants and to cast a vote.

eva.wasney@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @evawasney