The Brock community is invited to go green this weekend at Niagara VegFest.

The popular celebration of compassion and plant-based diets was created seven years ago by two Brock employees and is being sponsored by the University for the second consecutive year.

VegFest will take over St. Catharines Market Square on Sunday, June 3, drawing an anticipated 5,000 people downtown to see the nearly 100 vendors and organizations in attendance. The festivities have been expanded this year to also include VegFest in the Vineyard, a self-guided wine and food tour on Saturday, June 2, a screening of the documentary H.O.P.E.: What You Eat Matters, and a dining event, Veg-ilicious, at several local eateries from Thursday, May 31 to Sunday, June 3.

Brock’s VegFest sponsorship emphasizes the importance the University places on community engagement, said Laurie Morrison, Brock’s Interim Associate Librarian who co-founded VegFest alongside Visual Arts Associate Professor Keri Cronin.

“Anytime we at the University can have a presence out in the community, especially at an event that speaks to the growing region, it works really well,” she said. “It’s great to see the community and Brock come together at an event that brings people in not just from Niagara but from beyond the GTA, Kingston, Ottawa, across Canada and into the U.S.”

In addition to vendors, Sunday’s VegFest will feature live music, a roster of compelling speakers and a family area with children’s programming by Rodman Hall Art Centre, Niagara Inflatables and Smoothie Bikes.

The keynote will be delivered by Dominick Thompson, a marathon runner and powerlifter who will discuss his journey from prison to vegan activism during his talk “Redefining Masculinity Through Veganism.”

Admission to Niagara VegFest is $5. Children 12 and under are free. The first 5,000 festival-goers through the door will receive a $10 food voucher for Fiddler’s Pour House.

Attendees are also encouraged to bring non-perishable food donations for Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold, and to pack a reusable water bottle to fill at the Niagara Region Water Wagon. Brock OPIRG’s Free Store will also be at the event accepting donations.

For more information and a full list of speakers, vendors and events, visit niagaravegfest.com