Vegan Fairs are set to hold more than 16 vegan events across the UK in 2019, and they’re looking to create the most amazing trader lineups as well as offering talks, demos and advice at each fair.

Leading the way are a group of vegan event masterminds. Daisy Botha, who previously hosted successful vegan fairs around the Cotswolds and Wales, has joined forces with Jo Harrington who runs a regular vegan market in Frome, Somerset.

The collaboration formed earlier this year and they’re now working together to create the best vegan events across the UK for 2019 and beyond.

The 16 events start in the medieval town of Stroud, Gloucestershire, on Saturday 26th January and are programmed throughout 2019. The events will move through Portishead, Abergavenny and Chippenham to name a few – and trader applications are now open.

The team are looking for start-ups as well as established brands to join their event line-ups and traders can apply here.

The new events for 2019 are based in Portishead, Witney, Devizes and Abergavenny – these will be the first vegan events in each of the areas – and is a sign that veganism is here stay. Daisy Botha is excited to launch in the new locations and said:

‘I genuinely believe that vegan fairs and events are one of the most effective methods of vegan outreach and I think it’s especially important to bring these sorts of events to towns where people might not expect it.

Despite veganism being on the rise, often specialised vegan products can only be bought online or in larger towns and cities. Our aim is to give people the opportunity to sample and discover a wide variety of artisan, plant-based products made by independent businesses right on their doorstep. We’re always so overwhelmed at the amount of support we get from local people when we run an event in their hometown.

Working with local businesses means that we often attract the attention and attendance of local people, not all of whom are vegan. We’ve been praised for showcasing veganism in a friendly, approachable and accessible way.

We choose the locations of our fairs very carefully, for example, we chose Witney, because we noticed the cafe ‘Eden’ has just announced that their New Year's Resolution for 2019 is to ditch dairy and become a 100% vegan cafe. Moves like this from local businesses is clear proof that veganism is on the rise.’

The news comes at the end of a year where veganism has become mainstream – it was recently reported that 1 in 8 Britons now consider themselves either vegan or vegetarian, and 1 in 5 flexitarian, where they’re actively reducing the amount of meat they eat. And more and more people are venturing out to vegan markets, fairs and even speed dating!

The Vegan Fairs team create vibrant, fun and inclusive events that showcase the best of veganism. Each event varies in size, but all follow a similar format that showcase a range of local and national vegan products and brands, alongside an expertly curated programme of talks, demos and workshops.

The events aren’t just for vegans either – all are welcome, whether vegan, vegetarian or just ‘veg-curious’ – the team pride themselves on their inclusiveness.

Not only are the events a form of vegan activism for the organisers – designed to gently encourage veganism, but they’re responsible too. The team realise that even vegan events have a carbon impact – and that’s why they’ve created their own Tree Grove in the Scottish Highlands.

In conjunction with Trees For Life, Vegan Fairs have formed the ‘Bee Kind’ grove in the Scottish Highlands and encourage people that drive to their events to plant a tree to offset their carbon emissions.

They’ve worked out that a medium sized petrol car produces (roughly) 0.16 tonnes of carbon for every 500 miles and one tree will offset the same amount.

To find out more about any of the Vegan Fairs events head to their website, Vegan Fairs, or follow them on Facebook for all the latest news.