VegOttawa Fest 2026: Ottawa’s Biggest Vegan Day Out

One free indoor day of plant-based food, 50+ exhibitors, expert talks, and live music

📍 Get Directions Full Schedule

A doctor, a former slaughterhouse inspector, a chicken sanctuary founder, more than fifty exhibitors, and a whole lot of food — all under one roof, all free, for one Saturday in July.

🎟 Free admission 👨‍👩‍👧 Kid-friendly 🏛 Fully indoors 🅿️ Free parking

💡 Come hungry and bring a tote. The trade show is the heart of this thing — vendors sample generously, and the good stuff sells out before the afternoon talks wrap up.

Why Go Schedule Live Music Exhibitors Activities Essentials Getting There Tips FAQ

✨ Why This One Is Worth Your Saturday

VegOttawa Fest is the capital’s only event of its kind, and it punches well above its weight. It’s run entirely by volunteers — a planning committee of about a dozen people who put in ten months of work — and yet it pulls together more than fifty exhibitors, a dozen speakers, five musical acts, and a room full of people handing out samples. All of it free.

The trade show is the centre of gravity. This is where you’ll find Ottawa’s plant-based food scene in one room: SuzyQ Doughnuts, Wei’s Noodle House, BanhMiYes, Chickpeas, Nuts for Cheese, SweetCheeks Kitchen, Paradis Végétarien, and dozens more, alongside skincare brands, artists, animal-advocacy groups, and vertical-farming outfits like Lufa Farms. If you’ve been meaning to try more plant-based food but don’t know where to start, an afternoon here will short-circuit about a year of trial and error.

And the speaker program isn’t filler. This year’s roster includes a family physician certified in lifestyle medicine, a former CFIA slaughterhouse inspector explaining why he walked away after fifteen years, an animal-law counsel breaking down greenwashing and humanewashing on product labels, and a naturopath cutting through the ultra-processed-food panic. You can dip in for one talk or camp out in the theatre all day — nobody’s checking.

🎤 Speaker Program — Saturday, July 25

Talks run more or less continuously from 10:30 a.m. until closing remarks at 4:45 p.m. Doors and the trade show open at 10:00.

🎸 Live Music

Five local acts play through the day, so there’s a soundtrack to the trade show floor whether or not you’re sitting in on the talks.

🛍 Who’s Exhibiting

Confirmed exhibitors as of publication — food producers, bakeries, restaurants, skincare and body-care brands, artists, and advocacy organizations. VegOttawa adds new names weekly right up to the festival, so expect a few more on the day.

SuzyQ Doughnuts Wei’s Noodle House BanhMiYes Chickpeas SweetCheeks Kitchen Paradis Végétarien Keepin’ it Vegan The Grind Café Chez Laurence Green Brothers CaribLime Raon Kitchen Yugirolls Astoria Ottawa (pop-up) Soup Girl Delights by Mama Mom’s Homemade Chap Chap Snacks Neo Chips Proatein Mealz FIBOLI Foods Nutes Gutsy Drinks Crazy D’s Prebiotic Soda The Hot Pepper Lady Lufa Farms Spartan Kitchen Products Vegan’s Best Friend BKIND Birch Babe Metamorphose O Naturel Tucan Holistic EkiThera The Human Reset Space Terraïka Secondhand Stories The Cat’s Meow Sew Eliza Handmade Studio Staja Bestowed Cards PINBOX Tribal Secrets Dodjivi Sea Glass Films & Photography Animal Justice AEL Advocacy Anonymous for the Voiceless Humane World for Animals Plant-Based Treaty Ottawa Plant-Based Cities Movement CAFES Food Not Bombs Gatineau-Ottawa Ottawa Environment Forum We The Free

🎪 Features & Activities

Artist Alley — Vegan-themed work by local artists, with a portion of the proceeds from every sale going to help animals.

Fitness competition — Most pushups, longest plank. Prizes for the top performers, plus prizes anyone can win just for taking part.

Kids’ zone — Indoor games, colouring, face painting, and balloon animals, plus the Secondhand Stories chicken workshop from 1:15 to 1:45 p.m. in the small theatre beside the kids’ area.

Attendee bingo — Pick up a card at Guest Services on your way in and try to find people who match the squares. A low-key excuse to talk to strangers.

Enchanted Booth digital selfie booth — Photos with instant digital sharing, running throughout the day.

The Vegan Fashion Show casting call — VegOttawa is partnering with The Vegan Fashion Show to recruit models for an upcoming Ottawa show. Candidates take part in a fashion and advocacy presentation, can win vegan and cruelty-free prizes, and then audition. Apply in advance and be on site from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

📋 The Essentials

🚗 Getting There

The Ottawa Conference and Event Centre sits on Coventry Road just off the Vanier Parkway, next to the train station and the old Ottawa Stadium. It’s one of the easier venues in the city to reach without a car.

🚈 Transit: Roughly a 10-minute walk from Tremblay LRT station. Bus route 9 also serves the venue.

🚲 Bike: The venue is right by the Rideau River Eastern Pathway, with two bike racks outside the main door.

🅿️ Driving: Free underground parking with no registration required — that’s the simplest option. Surface parking is also free but has to be pre-registered online before you arrive, so sort that out the night before if you plan to park above ground.

💡 A Few Things Worth Knowing

🍽 Arrive hungry. This is the organizers’ own advice and it’s correct. Between the samples and the prepared-food vendors, lunch is handled.

🛍 Bring a reusable bag. You’ll buy more than you planned to. Everyone does.

👟 Comfortable shoes. It’s a concrete trade-show floor and you’ll be on it for hours.

💧 Pack a water bottle. Between samples and talking to vendors, you’ll want it — and it saves buying drinks all day.

🅿️ Go underground. If you’re driving, use the free underground lot — no pre-registration hassle. Just note where you parked; regulars say the two levels look identical and it’s easy to lose your car.

Support VegOttawa 🍅

VegOttawa is a 100% volunteer-run organization on a limited budget, and the festival is free by design so that anyone can walk in. Donations and memberships are what keep it that way — and what will eventually grow it back into the two-day event it was before 2020.

❓ Common Questions