Chattanooga, TN – September 12, 2023 – On Saturday, October 14, and Sunday, October 15, 2023, the community will gather for two days of fun, food, Between the Bridges Art Festival, the 7 Bridges Marathon, and festivities to celebrate a cruelty-free lifestyle, a cleaner environment, and a healthier planet. The goal of the event is to educate the public about the benefits of adopting plant-based choices and to promote vegan-friendly businesses and organizations’ resources in the Chattanooga area and beyond. Chattanooga Vegfest is produced by the group behind Vegfest Expos and Triangle Vegfest, a 501(c)3 nonprofit based out of Wake Forest, NC, and Cotton Branch Farm Sanctuary, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit founded in 2004 and based in Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina.
Festival-goers will have the opportunity to enjoy plant-based culinary delights, samples, and giveaways from vendors such as Superieur Electrolytes, Floyds Snack Shack, local favorites, Plant-Powered Cafe, and Sweet Briar Chocolates. Over 35 vendors will bring a variety of animal-friendly wellness and beauty products, apparel, health services, educational resources, and more. An up-to-date vendor list can be found on the event’s Facebook page or on our website, chattanoogavegfest.com.
Last year, the Between the Bridges Art Festival was on Saturday, and this year, they are back as a collaborating partner for both days. 7 Bridges Marathon will be on Sunday, with the opportunity to run a 5K,10K, half, or full marathon.
“We are so excited that Sarah and her team at Between the Bridges Art Festival will be on Saturday and Sunday,” Helene Greenberg, Executive Director of Triangle Vegfest, shares, “Our vendors will share the same space at Coolidge Park and the 7 Bridges Marathon is seeing a record number of signups too.”
We appreciate our sponsors, New Terra Compost and Superieur Electrolytes, for their continued support of this year’s festival. This event wouldn’t be happening if not for the 7 Bridges Marathon, our collaborative partner for the event. “Last year, our collaboration worked out so well that we knew we wanted to do it again and have Between the Bridges Art Festival as part of the weekend, too,” shared Jay Nevans of Scenic City Multisport, the team behind the 7 Bridges Marathon.
An added element to our festival is encouraging composting and recycling. Our sponsor, New Terra Compost, will help us do just that. “The legacy of a fun weekend will be fun memories and compost, not another section in the landfill! NewTerra Compost is excited to be helping Vegfest reduce the footprint of this event on the environment by composting organic material collected from attendees and vendors. Attendees will only be given compostable or recyclable materials from vendors. We are happy to be helping make this possible and hope that it serves as an example for other events in the Chattanooga area. Thank you, Vegfest, for your commitment to sustainability.” NewTerra Compost is a local company that aims to keep organic material out of the landfill. They work with restaurants, schools, businesses, events, and homes in the Chattanooga area to make composting easy and accessible.
We will have a DJ and MZ Jazzy as our emcee at the festival on both days, along with our Family Fun Zone for the children to enjoy the day playing with our life-sized games, corn hole, and free face painting.
Chattanooga Vegfest will take place, rain or shine, from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. on both days. The event is outdoors at Coolidge Park on the lawn, not far from the famous carousel.
Admission is free with a $5 suggested donation; donate $10, and you’ll get a free swag bag (while supplies last) along with VIP and VIP PLUS options. Attendees are encouraged to get a free ticket and donate to help our vendors gauge how much to bring/prepare. For $25, you can get a VIP ticket and receive an upgraded goodie bag of samples, 25 entries into our raffle to win fabulous prizes from our sponsors, and first entry to the venue at 10:30 am, giving an extra 30 minutes to shop and eat, our VIP PLUS is $35 and includes a reusable bag (unfilled and different from the VIP bags) and our Unapologetically Vegan shirt. All are welcome to our events, and no one is ever turned away. Festival-goers, please BYOB (Bring your own bags or bottles). Composting is encouraged, and recycling bins will be available for non-compostable items. Water, provided by our water sponsor, Appalachian Water Collective, will be available for purchase ahead of and at the festival. Help us reduce the amount of plastic by bringing your own bottle to fill for $5, or use our compostable cup for $6 and get unlimited alkaline water for the duration of the festival.
For more information and to make a donation, please visit:
Website: chattanoogavegfest.com or vegfestexpos.com