Arizona Gets its First Vegetarian Food Festival in January

    SCOTTSDALE, AZ, December 30, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Fire lips, vegan bacon, and peanut butter pit bulls... These are just a few of the delectable items on tap at the first annual Arizona Vegetarian Food Festival, to be held Saturday, January 10, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater.

One of the festival vendors, Southern Innovations, makes a line of gourmet, gluten-free, and no-sugar-added sauces. Their hot sauce is called Fire Lips, which joins a roster of Saucy Lips products. Another vendor, Sweet Earth Natural Foods, will offer burritos and burgers featuring seitan and vegan bacon. And the pit bulls will scamper in taking the form of artisan chocolate bars presented by Rescue Chocolate, whose products are for humans to enjoy but whose profits are all donated to animal rescue organizations.

More than 30 vendors of vegan foods and lifestyle products will grace the amphitheater, handing out free samples and selling their wares to festival-goers.

Additionally, the festival will provide a forum for talks by leading lights in the vegan and health community. Among those scheduled to speak are Matt Ball, the senior advisor at VegFund; bodybuilder Will Tucker of Plantfusion; Gene Baur, president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary; Sarah Pressler, CEO of the Arizona Foundation for Women; Kari Nienstedt of the Humane Society of the United Sates; Lauren Walls, founder of the Vegan Radiance franchise; and acclaimed medical researcher Dr. Amish Shah who is board certified in emergency and sports medicine.

The festival will also be bursting with cooking demonstrations by cookbook authors and celebrity chefs such as Madelyn Pryor, Jason Wyrick, Fran Costigan, Ali Metzger, Cesily DeAngelo, Johnna Gale, and JL Fields.

To round out the experience, attendees can participate in yoga classes offered by Caleb Willow, and take in musical performances by Timothy Bloom and other entertainers.

The Festival has been organized by the U.S. Veg Corp which is known for its New York City Vegetarian Food Festivals, begun in 2011. Co-founders Sarah Gross and Nira Paliwoda said their aim is to introduce ever-widening circles of consumers to the deliciousness and healthfulness of vegan living.

General admission (including two raffle tickets) is $20 per person in advance or $25 at the door; a $50 VIP package is also available. Tickets can be purchased here. For further information, go to http://azvegfoodfest.com.

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