Crowds mob Vegetarian Food Fest

Saturday morning was a little dreary, but that didn't stop the crowds from descending on the 5th annual Vegetarian Food Festival. The event was held in the gym and cafeteria of the LEED-certified East End Community School in Portland. Here the cafeteria is filled with folks waiting to score free samples of food donated by national companies, Maine Coast Sea Vegetables and the local veg-friendly restaurant The Pepperclub.

Hidden behind the mob, there was another row of exhibitors, including Jonah Fertig of Local Sprouts Cooperative. He was whipping up a tasty stir fry made with all Maine ingredients, including Maine-made tofu and canola oil.

Next door, the gym was just as packed with attendees and a bunch more exhibitors.

The table with free samples from the super-popular Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro was swamped until they ran out of food just two hours into the event. Since it's next to impossible to get a table at the restaurant, I wasn't surprised to see their food go so quickly.

Silly's, an East End institution, was serving up free samples of their award-winning BBQ tofu. I snapped this photo right after the festival opened at 11 am, which is the only reason these lovely ladies had a chance to smile for the camera.

Blogger, author and macrobiotic cook Meg Wolff had so many people stopping by to chat that I had a tough time just saying hi. You may remember her cooking tips from this story about macrobiotics I wrote for Switch. You can catch her doing a cooking demo on WCSH-6's 207 program next Thursday, July 23.

Being a bit of a bibliophile, I couldn't resist making a few purchases at this table staffed by Rabelais, Portland's all food bookstore. I hear they sold out of a number of books.

I didn't make it to the 13th Cookie table until after 1 pm, and I was too late to sample their vegan baked goods. With the popularity of plant-based diets in the Greater Portland area, I guess it's no surprise that vendors had a tough time keeping up with the demand. I expect the success of this growing event means we'll find even more exhibitors at next year's festival.

Want to see more photos from the event? Check out Cara Slifka's Seen photos here.