harm.less

Just because you abstain from animal products, doesn’t mean you abstain from alcohol. And for vegans who are into a little libation every now and then, the Better Booze Festival has arrived.

Kicking off this weekend in NYC, the vegan-friendly event will feature craft beer, wine, liquor, food, games, guest speakers, entertainers and more.

The annual shindig is hosted by U.S. Veg Corp (the company behind the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival) and Manhattan’s Webster Hall. The event is expected to draw between 500 and 1,000 attendees.

The list of vendors is lengthy, and includes Balls Vodka, Downeast Cider Hard Lemonade,
Barritt’s Ginger Beer, Lagunitas Pilsner, Stoudts American Pale Ale, Wolavers Outmeal Stout and many, many more.

Vegan White Russians, courtesy of Califia Farms, will be one notable offering. (The Dude would approve.)

“We curate the participants by doing some research into the brands and speaking with a combination of industry experts and getting some feedback from the general public. We also do a bit of tasting ourselves,” co-organizer Nira Paliwoda told Latest Vegan News.

Performing at the festival will be magicians Eric Walton and Kid Ace, fire dancer Rachel Jesse and aerialists Debbie Tan and Angela Pandelis. Musical guests will include Mr Wright, 187 Sound, MLE Wax and S.C.R.D. featuring Marissa Mermaid.

“Sometimes vegetarians are more focused on the food on their plates than the drinks in their glasses,” said co-organizer Sarah Gross in the press release. “They don’t realize that dairy elements might be swirling around down there.” (In addition to fish bladders, gelatin and egg whites, among other nasty additives.)

“People should expect a fun party atmosphere complete with a variety of world-class entertainment and delicious alcohol to sample and learn about. There will also be fun activities and vegan food vendors at hand and the first 200 people get awesome swag bags. Plus 10% of ticket sales go directly to this year’s charity beneficiary, charity: water,” says Paliwoda.

The festival runs from 12 to 3 p.m. this Saturday, June 13, in Webster Hall, 125 E 11th St, NYC. General admission is $45, and tickets are available online. Attendees must be (obviously) 21+.

Follow Latest Vegan News on Facebook, on Twitter @LatestVeganNews, and Google+ , and sign up to receive our daily headlines in your inbox here.