Press Release - 12-5-09

Veggie Pride UK is Set to Hit the Streets of Brum!

On Saturday 16th May, many hundreds of vegetarians and vegans from across the UK will descend on Birmingham for a fantastic fun-filled festival and carnival procession!!

Victoria Square in Birmingham City Centre will be transformed by Veggie Pride UK - a celebration of vegetarian and vegan lifestyles. It`s an opportunity for everyone following compassionate, eco-friendly, healthy lifestyles to come together for a fun, carnival style event whilst also raising awareneness of the many benefits - for human health, animals, the environment etc.

Veggie Pride UK will include info & product stalls, fantastic food, live music & entertainers, a vibrant & colourful carnival procession, best costume/banner contest and lots, lots more...!!

This will be a totally unique event, the first ever Veggie Pride in the UK. Never before has a FREE outdoor veggie/vegan festival been staged in such a prominent, high-profile location, where many 1,000`s of people flow past during the day. And never before has a carnival procession been solely devoted to the celebration and promotion of compassionate, healthy and eco-friendly lifestyles!

The festival will offer "all you need for healthy, cruelty-free, eco-friendly living". Festival-goers don`t have to be veggie or vegan to attend, all are welcome! Organisers invite everyone to "come and discover why people are increasingly adopting a veggie or vegan lifestyle".

The live stage entertainment will include bands, singers and inspirational speakers between 10am - 6pm. There will also be a magic show with Kristoff the Clown, belly dancers, a yoga demonstration, a steel band and lots more!

The vibrant and colourful carnival parade will start at 1pm and will feature a samba band, kids block and many eye-catching costumes. People attending are encouraged to dress up as a vegetable, animal or super hero. Others will wear their work clothes, eg. chef/nurse outfits and leisure/sports clothes etc, in order to demonstrate the diversity of vegetarians and vegans.

On the same day, Veggie Pride events will take place across the globe, including in Lyon, Milan, New York and Prague.

The UK event has been organised by a volunteer organisation called Midlands Vegan Campaigns(MVC). They have previously organised several food fairs, including one in Kings Heath, Birmingham in November 2007, and a festival in Wolverhampton last November which attracted 1,200 people.

Kevin White of MVC said, "For several years, Veggie Pride events have been held in Paris, and last year, also in Rome and New York. The main attraction of these events is a procession through the streets and also stalls, food, entertainment etc. No such event has ever been staged in the UK...until now!!" [1]

"Birmingham has played a very important role in the progress of vegetarianism for well over 100 years. By staging Veggie Pride UK in Birmingham, we seek to build on the vegetarian foundations layed down here generations ago." [2]

"People who choose not to eat animal products do so for a whole range of reasons, not the least being that a varied veggie or vegan diet lowers the risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers and increases life expectancy. It also eliminates suffering and saves the lives of thousands of animals as well as being a lot kinder to the planet. Veggie/vegan food is not only nutritious but it's delicious too, as everyone visiting Veggie Pride UK will discover."

Veggie Pride UK will be open from 10am till 6pm, with entertainment throughout the day and the carnival parade at 1pm. Admission to Veggie Pride UK is free.

For further details about the event, please see the website www.veggiepride.org.uk or call 01527 458395 .

ENDS

Notes to Editors
1. Kevin White of MVC can be contacted on 01527 458395 or via email  info@veganmidlands.org.uk Alternatively, contact Aileen Vania on 07788 643235 .

2. The first vegetartian hotel in the country opened on Corporation Street in 1898. The manager, James Henry Cook, also opened a vegetarian food shop in Birmingham, the first in the UK, and it`s from here that the phrase `health food store` originated. The idea spread rapidly and health food stores could soon be found in every town across the country. More info on the vegetarian hotel and health food store can be found here  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pitman_Vegetarian_Hotel Birmingham is home to the longest running veggie/vegan shop in the country, the One Earth Shop. And now, the Vegan Society have made their home in Birmingham, employing 11 full time staff. For all these reasons, there is nowhere more appropriate than Birmingham to stage the first national outdoor celebration of vegetarianism.

3. For many more details about the event, please see he webste www.veggiepride.org.uk

4. Please find attached a photo from last years Veggie Pride Parade in New York.