Each Vevolution attendee gets a free breakfast and goody bag on arrival (Picture: Sarah Koury / Entirety Labs)

Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of vegan festivals and markets, thanks to the increased interest in the vegan lifestyle.

However, some of the festivals just seem like corporate expos, with brands clambering to sell you their wares, and a few talks sprinkled in for good measure.

The founders of Vevolution are here to change all that, in the second year of their vegan festival.

Damien Clarkson and Judy Nadel have been running different education focused vegan events since 2015. When they saw the benefit these events had on attendees in fostering community and inspiring people, they wanted to do more.




And so, Vevoution was born.

This year’s event will include vegan TED talks, panels, workshops, a vegan Dragon’s Den, and of course, lots and lots of delicious food stands.

We spoke to co-founders Damien and Judy to find out what makes Vevolution special.

Damien Clarkson and Judy Nadel, co-founders of Vevolution (Picture: Vevolution)

So how is Vevolution different to other vegan festivals?

‘Unlike most vegan events our focus is on the educational and community element,’ explains Damien.

‘We take the biggest spaces at the venues we hire and dedicate these to educational elements of our festival. We invest in stage design and production, our talks are carefully curated with us taking an active role in helping speakers prepare.

‘Talks at Vevolution aren’t just about being vegan. It’s a place to come and share stories of change and triumph, it is a place to openly discuss issues like mental health, it’s a festival for people who want to play an active part in making the world a better place.

‘Vevolution is about learning, sharing experiences. Of course we have amazing vegan food available and some great sponsors – people get a goodie bag on entry, then it is all about hearing talks and getting involved in our creative workshops.’

Workshops include fermentation with Made in Hackney, zine making with Bright Zine and YouTube with Vegan Speak.

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A small minority of the vegan community have a reputation for being pretty damn hostile to anyone who isn’t a level 10 vegan, and it makes all vegans seem unwelcoming, even though that’s absolutely not the case.

It’s important to the guys at Vevolution that everyone is welcome here – level 10 vegans, regular vegans and the vegan curious.

‘It’s super important to us that people feel welcome at all our events,’ says Judy.

‘A main reason why we set Vevolution up is because we wanted plant curious people to come learn and meet like-minded people without feeling judged that they aren’t vegan yet. Being vegan isn’t about being perfect. We need to make people feel like being vegan is an easy choice they can make that doesn’t stop them living a normal life.

‘Plant-based eating is a mega trend and it isn’t just vegans driving the demand for more plant-based foods. We need to be a community that is open and welcomes everyone – that is how we create change. Vevolution is a place anyone can come and feel included and it always will be.’

Enjy delicious vegan food at Vevolution (Picture: Sarah Koury / Entirety Labs)

We ask the couple which talk they’re most excited about, and feel bad because we basically made them choose a favourite child.



‘All the talks are going to be amazing… We’re really excited about Nathan Runkle, The President and Founder of Mercy for animals flying over from LA specifically to give a Vevolution Talk. We has done an amazing job of growing Mercy For Animals into a powerhouse of the animal rights movement.

‘Other highlights are John Lewis AKA Bad Ass Vegan, TV personalities Lucy and Tiffany Watson and TV and radio presenter Sarah-Jane Crawford.’

Vegan lunch vendors are Club Mexicana, One Planet Pizza, Pomodoro E Basilico and Young Vegans pie and mash.

Snack purveyors include Ethos Foods, Vida Bakery and RAWsome.

The festival has vegan TED talks (Picture: Sarah Koury / Entirety Labs)

Damien has been vegan for four years and four months and Judy has been vegan for two years and 10 months. Before going vegan, Damien was vegetarian and Judy was a lapsed veggie.

‘Veganism has become so much more widely culturally recognisable than it was five years ago,’ explains Damien.

‘If you would ask for vegan options in restaurants you’d usually be met with a blank stare or a lack of willingness to help you. Restaurants now know they need to have at least one vegan option with most large restaurants now having a dedicated vegan menu.

‘Veganism is moving away from being seen as a cult and is widely seen as a good thing to do for your health, the environment and the animals.

‘Non-vegans are now willing to try and get excited by plant-based food. We’ve seen this with our friends who aren’t vegan who now love trying all the new vegan places with us.


‘This is the biggest change, people are excited by plant-based food and the idea of veganism is widely accepted as a good thing for us to at least aspire to.’

There’ll be plenty of delicious vegan food on offer (Picture: Sarah Koury / Entirety Labs)

The festival will be hosting Pitch and Plant – a vegan Dragon’s Den-style affair, where six budding plant-based entrepreneurs will pitch to a panel of judges for a chance to win £1,500 plus mentorship from BRAN Investments. The runner-up will receive a £500 prize.

Vegan start-ups can apply to pitch here. Applications must be received by Friday 27 October.

‘The quality of applications have been outstanding so far, it bodes really well for anyone interested in seeing more plant-based products and services in the world,’ reveals Damien.

‘Bran Investments are not only offering a money prize which could really help a lot of these emerging plant-based startups but they are also offering mentorship which will provide invaluable support.’

Vevolution is taking place in November in London (Picture: Sarah Koury / Entirety Labs)

‘There are so many which is super exciting as it just shows how much being vegan and plant-based is now a desirable lifestyle,’ Damien says when asked about his current favourite vegan gamechangers.

‘We love our friends at Votch, their vegan leather watches are amazing, we just got some of the new range which we are always wearing.

‘The London vegan food scene is amazing and growing rapidly, people like Club Mexicana, What The Pitta, Basilico E Pomodoro, Young Vegans and Vida Bakery are really changing people’s perceptions of vegan food.’

And what does he love most about being vegan?

‘I love being part of a movement that is attempting to make the world a better place for the planet, the animals and future generations.


‘We both feel like we are dedicating our lives to something that feels in-line with our values as human beings. It’s super cool to be contributing to something that really feels like the future of how we will live on this planet.’

Oh hello, you (Picture: Sarah Koury / Entirety Labs)

Vevolution is taking place on Saturday 25 November between 9am – 6pm at The Ri, 21 Albemarle Street, London, W1S 4BS.

Each guest will get a complimentary sample breakfast, coffee and a goodybag full of vegan treats on arrival.

Find out more and buy tickets here.

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