THE FESTIVAL OF THE SUMMER IS BACK!
Vegan Social Events is proud to announce that The Sustainable Block Party is back for a second summer in a row! Join us, Saturday, June 29th, from 11 am - 6 pm at 43 Junction Road, in Toronto. The festival is family-friendly and FREE for all to attend.
Our low-waste and 100% vegan festival will feature talks all day long with an incredible lineup of inspiring guest speakers, including Jonny Juicer, That Vegan Couple, The Fairly Local Vegan, The Edgy Veg, and The Sustainable Duo, just to name a few! Plus there will be over 100 vendors joining us with delicious vegan food and eco-friendly goods.
The Sustainable Block Party is accessible, inclusive, and best of all, FREE for all to attend!
Watch this video to get a feel for the festival:
Date: Saturday, June 29th, 2019
Time: 11 AM - 6 PM
Location: 43 Junction Road, Toronto. The festival will be held in the outdoor space next to the Organic Garage grocery store in the Junction for the second year in a row!
Free parking available on-site & nearby side streets. TTC accessible.
This all-ages, family-friendly festival will be open to the public and is FREE for all to attend. Pets are welcome to join us in the outdoor area.
ALL ABOUT VEGAN SOCIAL EVENTS
Vegan Social Events are the FIRST in Toronto to focus on promoting both veganism and sustainability - because the two go hand in hand! Our events are 100% vegan and low-waste. They bring together influencers, media makers, and the community for delicious vegan eats & drinks, sustainable shopping, and guest speaking engagements. Vegan Social Events always attract conscious consumers and socially responsible businesses. Our events focus on promoting the vegan lifestyle in a friendly and inclusive manner, and inspire guests to live sustainably.
The Sustainability Panel at The 2018 Sustainable Block Party. Photo by: LOF Photography.
Toronto Vegan Social Pop-Up - September 2017. Photo by: 135mm Photography.
TORONTO’S MOST SUSTAINABLE FESTIVAL
As the first series of events in Toronto to focus on promoting both veganism and sustainability, we work closely with all of our vendors to make sure that there is minimal waste at our events. We always encourage guests to bring their own sustainable items to use at our festival like reusable containers, straws, shopping bags, and more!
This year we are thrilled to have The Sustainable Duo helping us zero-waste this festival to ensure that we're making the smallest footprint possible.
This is the 1st Canadian festival to be #ZEROWASTED!
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Get the The Sustainable Duo’s ZERO-WASTE HACKS E-BOOK (click here) for FREE when you use code “zerowasted.” This e-book contains easy tips and tricks on how to implement sustainable habits into your everyday life in a non-intimidating way! You’ll be shocked at how easy these tips are to incorporate.
Our goal is to inspire our community to make sustainable choices for a smaller footprint. A major factor that is often left out of conversations surrounding sustainability is the impact that animal agriculture has on the environment. Animal agriculture plays a significant role as a contributing cause of serious environmental issues including pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, species extinction, ocean dead zones, and rainforest destruction.
As consumers, we can take the power into our own hands by voting with our dollar every time that we make a purchase.
Each day, a person who eats a vegan diet saves:
1,100 gallons of water
45 pounds of grain
30 sq ft of forested land
20 lbs CO2 equivalent
1 animal’s life
(source: www.cowspiracy.com/facts)
Vegan Social Events are 100% vegan and we work closely with our vendors help to make our events low-waste. We have requested that vendors consider the environment when preparing for this festival by limiting the number of boxes, plastic, and other waste that may be produced from their booths. We are also encouraging our guests to bring their own reusable containers, cutlery, straws, bottles, and shopping bags. Every little bit counts and together we can make this the most sustainable festival yet!!
We are pleased to have Rethink Resource helping us divert waste produced during the festival from the landfill. They will be handling all of our recycling, compost, and garbage collection. Attendees are invited to bring their e-waste from home to the Rethink Resource booth and it will be properly recycled. Rethink Resource will also be collecting cooking oil from our food vendors to be properly disposed of.
The Sustainable Block Party will be bullfrogpowered with 100% green electricity. This means that Bullfrog Power’s generators put 100% green power into the grid to match the amount of conventional electricity the event uses, displacing energy from polluting sources. Across Canada, Bullfrog’s green electricity comes from a blend of wind and low-impact hydro power sourced from new Canadian renewable energy facilities.
For more information on Bullfrog’s green energy, visit www.bullfrogpower.com.
To learn more about the environmental issues that are related to animal agriculture visit www.cowspiracy.com/facts.
THE VENUE
We are proud to have Organic Garage as our Venue Partner for The Sustainable Block Party. The festival will be taking place in the outdoor space next to their Junction grocery store location for the second year in a row! The space is surrounded by trees and lush greenery, with a beautiful view of the downtown Toronto skyline.
Organic Garage, a store with a healthy conscience. They sell the best quality organic and all natural products, including 100% certified organic produce and many vegan options at everyday affordable prices, so customers can shop for Healthier Food For Less!
INSPIRING GUEST SPEAKERS AT STOKES CHEESE STAGE
The Sustainable Block Party will feature an incredible line-up of special guest speakers from around the world, with speaking engagements and panel discussions all day long.
A BIG thank you to our generous stage sponsor Vegan Stokes Cheese! Make sure to visit their booth at the festival - they will have lots of delicious vegan cheese to sample and buy.
STOKES CHEESE STAGE SCHEDULE
11:30 AM - Going Vegan and Zero-Waste with Kids
The Fairly Local Vegan (25 minutes)
Amber Allen - also known as The Fairly Local Vegan - is a zero waste and vegan YouTube content creator. She is best known for her frugal and minimalist zero waste videos and her "perfectly imperfect" lifestyle approach. Amber will be speaking about striving to be zero-waste in the real world with her family of 5, and easy shifts that everyone can make to go vegan and zero-waste too!
12:00 PM - Let’s Get Zero-Wasted
The Sustainable Duo (35 minutes)
Carly & Brenden of the Sustainable Duo are on a mission inspire others to lead by example while making effective change! With easy resources like e-books, zero-waste starter kits, zero-waste products, and consulting, they are a one-stop-shop for an organic way of life. Join the duo for a talk all about their low-impact journey, and to learn about everyday sustainable alternatives for zero-waste living.
12:45 PM - Jonny’s Healing Journey
Jonny Juicer (35 minutes)
Jonny struggled with health issues for many years, and transformed his life through juicing and a plant-based diet. The life-changing results that he experienced pushed him to delve deeper into learning about the powerful, living foods that dramatically impacted his life. Join Jonny for a talk about his journey to wellness, and to be inspired to reach your personal health goals!
1:30 PM - Sustainability Panel
Hosted by The Sustainable Duo with Amber Allen of The Fairly Local Vegan, Aneta Sofronova of rubysunn, Tosha Lobsinger of Peace People Project, and Shane Harker of Rethink Resource (35 minutes)
2:15 PM - Vegan - It's the Least We Can Do
That Vegan Couple (35 minutes)
How did this couple go from meat-lovers to animal rights activists? Natasha and Luca tell their story and share what is needed to create the sustainable and peaceful world we all want to live in. They will discuss why vegan is the least we can do, various ways to be involved in the animal rights movement, and using social media as a powerful tool for change.
3:00 PM - Going Vegan for your Health and the Planet
Dr. Tushar Mehta (25 minutes)
3:30 PM - Vegan Nutrition Panel
Featuring Jonny Juicer, Dr. Tushar Mehta (MD), Tehsina Jaffer (CNP, CPT, and Naturopathic Medical Intern), and Sarah Brandow (MSc, Plant-Based Nutritionist). Moderated by Shoshana Chaim of Plant Trainers. (35 minutes)
4:15 PM - Vegan Influencers Panel
Featuring That Vegan Couple, Candice Hutchings of The Edgy Veg, Richard Burgess of Vegan Gains, Anne-Marie Campbell of Meat Free Athlete, and ZALE. Moderated by Aaron Fisher. (35 minutes)
5:15 PM - Food Justice + Sovereignty
Anan Lololi of Afri-Can Food Basket (25 minutes)
Afri-Can FoodBasket’s mission is to provide leadership in urban agriculture, and foster collaboration to advance food justice, health and social enterprise in the African Canadian Community. Afri-Can FoodBasket’s integrated programs leverage one another as a means to create a holistic solution to address youth unemployment, youth leadership, and cross generational / cross cultural collaboration. These programs provide an avenue for marginalized communities to exercise self empowerment and gain access to healthy organic foods.
We are pleased to share that SCOTTIFY - Powered By Plants, an Award Winning Greater Toronto and Niagara area DJ Services Provider, will be joining the festival with music throughout the day!
BUNZ
We are thrilled to be partnering with Bunz, an online trading app that had its start in Toronto! Bunz is a community where people meet everyday to trade things like clothing, furniture, and art. You can post things on Bunz that you're done with or haven't used lately, or offer up a service like photography.
Meet the Bunz team at the Bunz Chill Zone to learn more about the platform and sign-up for the app! This will also be a central location where existing members can meet-up for trades.
Spend your BTZ with participating vendors! BTZ are an easy-to-use digital currency, designed and built from the ground up by Bunz.
Get 1000 BONUS BTZ when you sign up for the Bunz app using code ‘blockparty’ (all lowercase).
FOOD + DRINKS
Complimentary food + drink tasting items will be served throughout the day. Our food and drink vendors will also have delicious items for sale too. Come hungry!
Ben & Jerry’s will be serving FREE (generous) scoops of their dairy-free version of their chunky swirly ice cream. Magnum is also joining with FREE treats including their NEW full-size vegan bars dipped in real unsweetened Belgian chocolate. This is the FIRST festival in Canada featuring Magnum's NEW non-dairy bars! Bring your own reusable container to help Ben & Jerry’s keep things low-waste! *These complimentary samples will be provided while supplies last.
Trillium Pure Water is keeping everyone hydrated at The Sustainable Block Party with complimentary filtered water! Trillium’s entire concept from start to finish is green in theme and environmentally friendly. BYO water bottle to refill at the Trillium Pure Water booth next to the stage.
ETHICAL + SUSTAINABLE GOODS
A selection of sustainable, eco-friendly and cruelty-free products will be showcased and available for sale. Meet the creators behind the brands and learn all about products that you can feel good about supporting!
KMH TOUCHES ECO DENTAL- Flosspot™ Vegan
Visit the Wuxly Movement FREE Photo Booth: photos will be sent electronically to keep things low-waste! There will be an additional option to have complementary physical copies printed.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
A special thanks to the support from the community for making this event possible. Be sure to visit the booths of the organizations and companies listed below who will be joining the event:
Toronto Vegetarian Association *
*Donated Booth Spaces: we are proud to be donating a block of booth spaces to charities and not-for-profit organizations that are working in the areas of animal rights protection, the promotion of the vegan lifestyle, as well as, sustainability initiatives.
CHARITY SILENT AUCITON
This festival will feature a Charity Silent Auction with over $2,000 in Prizes! 100% of the proceeds will be donated to charities that are joining our event. All of the funds raised will be divided up equally between the organizations.
Niyama Yoga Wellness Canada Organic Plant Protein ($39.99 value)
Panago Pizza $50 Gift Certificate
KMH TOUCHES ECO DENTAL- Flosspot™ Vegan Gold Elegance Collection ($40 value)
Harley Monte Intuitive Advisor 30 min Reading ($75 value)
Ben & Jerry’s Gift Basket ($100 value)
Crofter’s Organic Gift Basket ($50 value)
Vegan Outfitters T-Shirts ($56 value)
Buddha Brands Company Prize Pack ($63 value)
Queen’s Shop Hair Gift certificate for services and product ($150 value)
Molly B’s Gluten Free Kitchen $100 Gift Certificate (for use at the Evergreen
Brickworks Sunday Market)
Enjoy Life Foods Gift Basket ($25 value)
Eco-Max Gift Pack ($25 value)
Fresh Restaurants $250 Gift Card
Well Told Health Full-Size Products ($200 value)
Vegan Stokes Cheese Gift Basket ($100 value)
Culcherd 2x Vegan Cheese Gift Baskets ($100 value each)
Il Fornello Restaurants Dinner at IL Fornello ($100.00 value)
Eva’s Original Chimneys Gift Card ($50 value)
Hilary’s Eat Well Swag Bag ($40 value)
Live Green Toronto Zero-Waste Kit ($60 value)
FinalStraw 2 x the original reusable, collapsible straw ($24.50 value each)
Wuxly Movement Wuxly Toque ($50 value)
SnackConscious 3 Month SnackBomb Subscription Box ($120 value)
Plant Trainers Nutrition Counselling ($130 value)
Silver Hills Gift Bag ($100 value)
Special thanks to all of the companies who have generously donated prizes! Please check back as more prizes will be added on an on-going basis. Note that items are subject to change.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR FESTIVAL SPONSORS
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR MEDIA PARTNERS
MEET THE TEAM!
The team for The Sustainable Block Party is comprised of vegans who are passionate about the lifestyle! We are so lucky to be joined by such talented and compassionate individuals. Our events would not be possible without their hard work and dedication!
Avra Epstein - Vegan Social Events Creator and Festival Producer. Avra is a Toronto-based lawyer, the founder of the blog lovewildivefree.com, and the creator of Vegan Social Events. Avra promotes a low-waste and sustainable vegan lifestyle through her online platforms and events.
Stacey Ottman - Festival Branding. All branding and art has been produced by BYSTACEYLEE. Stacey is a designer located in Toronto who offers creative branding, deck building, content creation and more. Feel free to contact her at bystaceylee(at)gmail.com, she would love to hear from you! Her portfolio can be found here: bystaceylee.com (password: letmesee).
Michael Codner - Event Assistant. Michael, pictured at Wishing Well Sanctuary, is passionate about animal rights and promoting a healthy, vegan lifestyle.
Katherine Sousa - Publicity & Media Assistant. Katherine works full time in Public Relations and is also one-half of the Two Market Girls. Check out their YouTube Channel for awesome recipes and all things vegan!
Devin Andrade - Festival Videography. Devin works as a digital content producer and is also one-half of Two Market Girls. Check out their YouTube Channel for awesome recipes and all things vegan!
Sarah Janson - Event Planning Assistance. Sarah, pictured above at Wishing Well Farm Sanctuary, is the founder of Little By Little IC. As Canada’s first exclusively vegan event planner, Sarah aims to make vegan food, beverage and vendors more accessible. She is also certified in plant-based nutrition and provides health, wellness and lifestyle coaching.
