Chicago Vegan Mania

We had a great time at the 7^th Annual Chicago VeganMania which was held on Oct 10, 2015. The food court had wonderful selections; dishes were priced at $ 5 — $ 10. I tried a vegan tamale from Chicago Diner for $ 5, and some Korean pancakes from Bryn Mawr Fresh Market, also $ 5.
There were various vendor booths, some were selling various vegan products (food, clothing, etc), some offered free samples, and some provided information on issues such as animal welfare and GMO labeling efforts. They also had chef demos upstairs, I only got to see a few minutes of a demo since I arrived late. They also had a speaker series — the room was small and there were no seats when I arrived. Next year I plan on arriving earlier day and I will make sure to arrive early to the speaker events to get a seat.
Parking was available on Broadway for $ 2.00 per hour (max 2 hours), or on side streets $ 2.00 per hour (max 3 hours). And if you could find parking on residential streets, I believe it was free to park. It was so packed that it took us 15 minutes to find a parking lot, which was an 8 minute walk to VeganMania.

First thing to note: this event is now being held at the Broadway Armory in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago.
The Vegan Mania event is held annually, on a Saturday. I had a rare Saturday morning off work while the time I was doing a 21-​day vegan challenge. Serendipity! I decided to attend.
Public transportation is highly recommended. Parking in this area is extremely tight. There is pay parking on Broadway, but it goes fast. I spent 15 minutes driving around the side streets until I finally found a spot. I almost turned around and went back home, so frustrated was I by the parking situation.
I almost went home when I saw the line outside, stretching from the front of the armory around the corner and down Thorndale. I arrived just after 10am, and the event began at 10am, but there was a loooonnnggg line. When I got to the end of the line, I found out one big reason why the line moved so slow. Although all the promotional material for the Vegan Mania said admission was free, and the banner on the fence outside the Armory said «free admission», a woman was walking up and down the line, shouting out, «Have your $ 3.00 donation ready so we can get you in faster.» Huh? Nowhere did it say there was any admission fee. I almost went back to my car at this point, because I was so totally pissed off at this bait and switch tactic. If you’re charging an admission fee, say so. I wanted to take a photo of the signage out front to show you, but I left my phone at home. So be it. Lying really pisses me off. Deduction of one star from my rating for false advertising. Nothing like a bad taste in my mouth before I even got inside.
The Vegan Mania program included chef demos, panel discussions, culture café performers, «Ask A Vegan» experts, and main stage presentations, none of which I attended. I had appointments in the afternoon, so kept my exploring to the main exhibit hall. Two walls of the hall were lined by food purveyors of different sorts, caterers, restaurants, and more. You had to buy tokens to buy food. That is kind of a pain in the butt, but at least you didn’t have to buy a set amount of tokens. If you only needed three tokens, you could spend $ 3.00 and get just the amount you wanted.
The other two walls and a few aisles featured lots of animal rights activism and items for sale. You could buy cruelty-​free cosmetics, clothes, shoes, and personal grooming items. You could buy bumper stickers, become a member or donor of PETA, Tree House Animal Foundation, the Center for Ethical Science — a tremendous variety of vendors and causes.
I ran into an old friend, a woman who’s been a vegan for 14 years. She’s been coming to this festival for years. She told me that it would be completely packed with people by the afternoon hours, and that the food vendors always run out of food. I had no idea this was such a popular event! Maybe it should be expanded to two days?
I only stayed for an hour. Would I go again? Probably. I’m still annoyed about charging for admittance when all the advertising materials said free. There is no other vegan event in the Chicago area that I know of, so this is it for vegans and those persons interested in veganism and related causes and interests. Just be honest with me about the existence of an entrance. I hate, hate, hate, feeling like I’ve been tricked, and that’s how I feel about this event. Yeah, it’s a little thing, but it’s the principle. If veganism is an ethical lifestyle, then be ethical. Anyway.. . you’ll probably enjoy the event. It’s only once a year, so watch out for it in 2015.

We went to sample the food, and unfortunately the crowd at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse was so big, even as late as we got there, we just didn’t have the patience to wait to get tickets or sample any of the food. There were a huge assortment of vegan and animal rights organizations, so it was an interesting event. It was described as the ultimate celebration of Chicago’s vegan community, culture, commerce, cuisine, and couture. That about sums it up. It was the 3^rd year the event has been put on, so look for it next year.