According to the North American Vegetarian Society, World Vegetarian Day is celebrated each year on October 1st; this year October was also declared Vegan Mofo, short for Vegan Month of Food. It’s not that I wasn’t mindful of these dates, but I don’t usually blog about food so you didn’t read about it here. Perhaps the Boston Vegetarian Society was a bit late to the table as well, insofar as yesterday, November 1st, was their Thirteenth Annual Vegetarian Food Festival, held at the Reggie Lewis Center at Roxbury Community College. I was in town for the show at the MFA, so I decided to drop by the Festival in the afternoon.
I took MBTA Commuter Rail from Union Station in Worcester to Back Bay. Traveling by train was easy and cheap, as the ride is about an hour and a half, door-to-door. In Worcester, I parked at the Station for $1.00, and my round-trip ticket cost $15.50. Once I arrived in Boston, I walked to my destinations. It seemed that they urban-renewed the South End with a vengeance some years ago (after I no longer lived nearby in the Fenway); I was so impressed by the changes that I took some photos of the skyline.
Of course, some things never change: pigeons still roost on the traffic lights near Symphony Hall.
The day was windless and mild, and it took me only a few minutes to walk from Huntington Avenue over to 1350 Tremont Street. I knew I was in the right place when I saw the banner and then the crowds surging into the building.
The more than 100 exhibitors were packed into one room on the first floor, and there were so many visitors that it was difficult to move. I managed to buy a chocolate cupcake and a bottle of water; I also sampled cookies from Whole Foods, a crispy rice bar from Trader Joe’s, and Fair Trade chocolate from Theo’s. The only other freebies I snagged were the latest issue of the magazine VegNews, a Nature’s Path granola bar, and a packet of cruelty-free hair conditioner from Aubrey Organics. The Society’s website provides extensive coverage of the Festival, and I can add my voice to the many positive reviews.
The one sour note to the day turned out to be my vegan shoes. I bought them a while ago but hadn’t worn them in months because I switched to my Propet walkers. These went into the wash on Friday, so I wore the Saucony sneakers yesterday. Well, my left heel blistered so badly that when I arrived home, I discovered that blood had soaked through my sock and stained the inside of the shoe. Before my train left, I had bought a box of band-aids at the CVS on Boylston Street, and that took care of the open wound, but how do I wash the blood out of the shoe? If you have any suggestions, please leave me a comment. Thanks!