Viva Roadshows
From A Vegan Guide To Bristol 2006
2005 saw one of the most ambitious and successful projects ever undertaken in the UK in the quest to spread the message about the benefits of the veggie/vegan lifestyle, as Viva!, the international vegetarian pressure group based in Bristol, crossed the UK on a twelve date tour with their Its Time to Go Veggie roadshows.
Starting in Bristol back in October 2004, the roadshows visited Brighton, Solihull, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Southampton, Newcastle, Sheffield, Plymouth, Oxford, and Canterbury before culminating in a huge show at Wembley in London, where an estimated 5,000 people turned up to a massive array of all things veggie and vegan.
The main reason for the Roadshows is to show people how, by going veggie, vegan or reducing their meat and dairy consumption, they can save the animals, protect the environment, be healthy and enjoy good food, says Michelle from Viva!. At each event we had between 1,000 and 2,000 people coming through the doors a phenomenal number and of course each show has been featured in many local papers, bringing the benefits of the veggie/vegan lifestyle to an even bigger audience.
The Roadshows featured talks, cookery demos, food tastings, nutritional advice, details of campaigns, competitions and a huge range of merchandise for sale, as well as free copies of the Its Time to Go Veggie magazine, and over 25,000 people attended the shows overall many of them new to the whole concept. And judging by the questionnaires completed, many people were changing their diets to include more plant based options. In fact, every promise made by people to change their diet potentially means the lives of two million animals have been saved. I never realised how much difference could be made by making a few changes in my diet said one visitor.
And it wasnt just the visitors who were impressed the sponsors and stallholders who made up a huge part of the Wembley show (over 90 stalls!) were thrilled, too. The show was the most successful public show that we can remember, said Adrian from Plamil, one of the UKs biggest vegan firms. We are proud to be supporting such a great event that attracts both the converted looking for new products, and those that could just not believe that such good tasting products could be made without animal ingredients.
As it happens, the Roadshows have been so successful that four more are planned for 2006 in York (June 3rd), Swansea (Aug 5th), Bath (Sept 9th) and Norwich (Nov 4th). Admission is free to all these events and you can get full details, opening times, directions etc from the Viva!! website. And should you be wanting to get involved and feel like volunteering to help, then you will be most warmly welcomed just phone the office in Bristol for details. Viva! have organised some fantastic campaigns in the past, and will no doubt continue to do so in the future, but Im sure all those who were lucky enough to visit their shows will agree that the shows are particularly excellent, and many will be hoping that they continue to build on this success and plan more for the future.
For more info about the roadshows, see here.