Whether you are vegetarian, vegan or simply "veg-curious," an upcoming event may set your tastebuds quivering.

It won’t be until October, but organizers are already working on Kingston’s first VegFest, a celebration of plant-based food.

It will be held Oct. 22 at St. Lawrence College and will include vendors, workshops, speakers, food demonstrations and entertainment, all focused on plant-based eating, said Sharon Ash, a health promotions specialist at Canadian Forces Base Kingston and one of the organizers. She is also a director of the Kingston Vegetarian Network.

"We have been going to VegFests in Toronto for years and years and finally I saw some smaller cities starting to have VegFests," she explained.

Guelph’s is in its fifth year and Niagara has had one for three years.

"And I thought, what the heck, we have such a great Kingston community and an activism community, so I thought let’s do it," she said. "What we want to market VegFest to are those people looking at plant-based eating. We want this festival to be a joyous celebration of plant-based eating."

Plant-based eating is a vegan diet, Ash explained. Of course, that means no meat.

That also means no eggs or milk, which are part of vegetarianism.

"Sometimes it can be difficult to wrap your head around, for sure."

Labels such as vegan or vegetarian can be a barrier to people who want to change their eating habits, she said. Basically, you decide what works for you and at what pace.

"It’s a process, it’s a journey, step by step," Ash said.

People decide to be vegan because of a passion for the environment, for animals, for sustainability or for their own health, she explained.

"There are so many different reasons that people would choose a plant-based meal and we want to honour that and welcome that. That’s what we want the message to be — that anyone can look at having more plant-based meals and that there is amazing food out there and amazing people supporting that educational awareness.

"Vegan has a bad rap," she said, with stereotyped foods like tofu sticking in people’s minds. In fact, there are "amazing foods available" and some of them will be showcased during the VegFest.

"There is nothing bland about veganism. This is our opportunity to really show the community how delicious vegan food is."

Plant-based eating is mainstream nowadays, she said.

"It is definitely growing."

Ash said that up to 10 per cent of the people in the United States are vegetarian and between one and three per cent are vegan.

"But that changes astronomically each year. It is certainly a growing movement that continues to broaden. North America is really becoming vegan-ized, I feel."

She explained the Kingston Vegetarian Network started out as the Kingston Animal Trust, an animal rights group that used activism to protest circuses and the wearing of fur, and then went beyond just animal rights.

The vegan lifestyle and animal rights go hand in hand since vegans don’t wear animal products, such as leather or down, and oppose the use of animals in research.

Basically, it is "not using animals for our benefit," she said, and it focuses on the environment, sustainability and health.

Through the VegFest, they want to open up the possibilities to people in the community who are interested in plant-based eating but aren’t ready to commit completely just yet.

They are called "veg-curious."

It doesn’t have to mean a radical change overnight, Ash stressed. It could involve establishing a "meatless Monday," something big in the United States and getting more popular in Canada.

Many top restaurants have vegan options, she said.

"Almost everyone knows a vegan now."

Ash has been a vegan for six years and a vegetarian for 15, starting out in high school.

"That was more just to be different and to be cool."

Later, she embraced the animal rights element.

"I wanted to live more compassionately."

Ash didn’t want to take an animal’s life to fuel her own when it wasn’t necessary.

Organizers are still figuring out who is coming to the October event. It was decided to hold it in the fall so it wouldn’t conflict with any existing VegFests. It will also open it up to the student populations at Queen’s University and St. Lawrence.

Ash is hoping the VegFest, planned as a first annual, will give the vegan movement in Kingston a kickstart.

"I am really certain there will be something for everyone."

Organizers are looking for more volunteers to help out and more vendors. Anyone interested can go to the VegFest website at www.kingstonvegfest.ca, or email info@kingstonvegfest.ca.

mlea@postmedia.com