New York Times best-selling author Rory Freedman and NBA star John Salley will headline the speaker lineup at this year’s VegFest, the annual vegetarian tastefest and expo hosted by VegMichigan.
The event, taking place 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Sunday, April 18 at Ferndale High School, features food from local restaurants, lectures, cooking and raw-food demonstrations, exhibitors, free samples, door prizes, children’s entertainment and more, all designed to promote the health, environmental and ethical benefits of a plant-based diet. VegFest also serves as the kick-off event for Ferndale Green Week activities.
Keynote speaker Freedman is expected to draw fans of her best-selling, sassy and entertaining “Skinny Bitch” series.
Back this year by popular demand, after drawing a record-breaking crowd of nearly 2,000 to last year’s VegFest, is former Piston and TV personality John Salley (“Best Damn Sports Show Period”).
Like Freedman, he is vegan — meaning he neither eats nor uses any animal products — and he passionately believes that his diet choice improved his game and his life.
Attendees can enjoy tasty vegan cuisine from two dozen local restaurants, national brand samples, cooking and raw-food demonstrations, door prizes, children’s activities and several lectures and presentations.
In addition to Freedman at 1 p.m. and Salley at 2 p.m., speakers throughout the day include Dr. Joel Kahn, medical director of cardiac rehabilitation at Beaumont Hospital; diabetes specialist Caroline Trapp; environmentalist Troy Farwell, executive director of Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center; raw foods educator Andrea McNinch, founder of Regeneration Raw; Dorothy Davies, co-founder of SASHA Farm; VegMichigan president Harry Pianko; and a panel of vegan and vegetarian adults and children who will discuss “Going Veg for Dummies.”