Last weekend’s first ever Eugene VeganFest was an incredible success! We were very happy to be a part of it, with our books, T-shirts, and typewriter cards and gifts.
The photos below were taken in the first few minutes of the doors opening … within the first hour, the auditorium at the Lane Convention Center was packed, and lines for the vegan food trucks were 20-30 people long.
We had the loveliest neighbors at our ACP booth, including Compassion Co., which had fabulous merch for sale, and Animal Compassion Eugene (A.C.E.), which offered $4 to those who were willing to watch a video showing what really goes on in the places where our food comes from.
While we ate well at VeganFest (including vegan mac-and-cheese from B’Heavenly, a gigantic vegan cinnamon roll from Sister Products, mushroom jerky from Pan’s Mushroom Jerky, and coffee and mushroom chocolate from Vehicle Mushrooms), we ate well outside of the event, too.
No visit to Eugene is complete without a stop at Voodoo Doughnut. We enjoyed vegan chocolate and regular glazed doughnuts and only wish we’d had the time and the room for every vegan flavor on sale.
We also had a wonderful evening at the Acorn Community Cafe, a lovely all-vegan restaurant with a beautiful garden in the back. Acorn Cafe is tip-free, which means staff members receive a higher base wage instead of relying on tips. But even better is that there is a tip jar, into which customers can contribute any amount toward the cost of a meal for a neighbor in need. So far this year, Acorn has already provided thousands of meals for community members.
And … the food is gorgeous. Fortunately, lunch and brunch are served all day … which means you can have whipped-cream-smothered waffles or banana pancakes for dinner. With mimosas.
Among the four of us, we sampled the artichoke pasta, vegetable polenta, and sides of roasted asparagus and smashed potatoes with garlic dill aioli. The restaurant had already sold out of the gnocchi alla vodka, which means we’ll have to return soon to give it a try.
This sweet little restaurant is a wonderful place to eat with compassion and to give back to the community.
Ashland Creek Press co-founder Midge Raymond is the author of the award-winning short story collection FORGETTING ENGLISH and a novel, MY LAST CONTINENT. Learn more at MidgeRaymond.com.
can also get a decent and tasty vegan meal at “Café Yumm” (with several locations in Oregon now)