Veggie Events: Just V and Allergy & Free-From Shows 2017

I’ve been attending the Just V Show (formerly V Delicious) for five years running now. I swear that each year, it gets bigger and better.

Last weekend, the Just V Show co-located with The Allergy & Free From Show, the Love Natural Love You Show, and The Eat Smart Show so there were essentially four shows under the one roof, sharing similar dietary and lifestyle values. Many exhibitors could easily be part of any or all of the different shows.

The only downside to these co-locating shows was that the event was not veggie-exclusive. Though the majority of vendors were veg-friendly and loads were vegan, there were still several non-veg stands or those with mixed goods.

I accepted free noodles from a stall then later discovered that they not only contained eggs (not surprising) but also fish! Gross. Donated them to my housemate.

I appreciate that the shows cater for different lifestyles and dietary requirements but usually one of the simple joys of this type of event is being able to eat or try out anything and everything in sight without needing to ask a million questions or study an ingredients list.

Despite that small grievance, I still came away with a decent haul and a list of new brands and products to try out!

I spent most of my time in the Just V Show, sampling tasty treats!

 

The Eat Smart Show also had some great vendors, including Cape on Backwards who made these amazing cakes!

 

The Love Natural, Love You show had some great vendors with eco-friendly home and beauty products. I was tempted to buy the entire Pacifica range but restrained myself. I did grab some goodies from ecozone, though.

 

The Allergy & Free From Show were giving out their own showbags, full of tasty treats. Most of them were vegan-friendly and the few with eggs, were donated to my housemate.

I went to my first ever blogger meet-up, which was hosted by The Allergy Show. After listening to everyone introduce themselves and their blogs (and speaking on the mic myself – eek!), I met some lovely fellow bloggers and spoke to suppliers who wanted to share their goods.

As a super-shy and decidedly awkward person, it was a tad overwhelming and a bit chaotic with so many people in such a small space. However, it was definitely worth it as I came away with some amazing goodies and a whole bunch of business cards and blog links to check out.

Most of the goodies that were given out were vegan-friendly but the few that contained eggs have been donated to my grateful housemate! I have a lot of food to get through so reviews to come…

I did actually buy some things as well!

I visited some of my favourite brands to pick up (mostly naughty) treats like Rebel Kitchen “mylk” and dairy-free chocolate bars.

I know the ecozone drain cleaning sticks don’t quite fit with the rest of the haul but I love the brand’s products and we have some serious drain issues at the moment.  I hate putting chemicals down our perpetually blocked and smelly kitchen drains so I’m hoping these little guys work wonders.

As I’m currently hobbling around on a crutch (graduated from two crutches!) with a dodgy ankle, I couldn’t spend as much time as I normally would at the event and didn’t make it to all the stalls. Despite this, I came home with what was probably the biggest haul I’ve had from a show in a long time; I couldn’t even fit it all in the one flatlay!

Can’t to start munching my way through it all…

Did you go the any of the shows? Let me know your favourite finds!

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Check out reviews from previous years here:

Just V Show 2016
Just V Show 2015
V Delicious 2014
V Delicious 2013