The latest episode of Plant Based On Fire dives into the inspiring journey of Helene Greenberg, founder of VegFest Expos and a trailblazer in creating inclusive spaces that welcome everyone to explore the benefits of veganism. Bryan sat down with Helene to discuss her journey, the challenges of running vegan festivals, and how her mission has impacted communities across the Southeast.
The Origins of VegFest: A Passion Meets a Purpose
Helene’s journey into creating vegan festivals began in 2014, during a brief break while pursuing her master’s in education and school counseling. What started as a local event in the Triangle area of North Carolina has since grown into a series of festivals across multiple states, welcoming thousands of attendees annually.
“I had no idea how many people would come to that first festival,”
Helene shared, recounting how she took a leap of faith and rallied vendors to join her vision.
"I had a number in my head—2,000—but I kept it to myself because I knew people would think I was crazy.”
That first event exceeded expectations, setting the stage for a decade of VegFest Expos.
Business with a Heart: Supporting Vendors and Community
For Helene, the heart of her festivals lies in the vendors.
"I absolutely love our vendors—they’re like family," she said.
Her dedication to their success is evident, from personally manning booths to jumping into food trucks to help during busy moments.
Unlike many other festivals, VegFest Expos places a strong emphasis on creating a welcoming environment, especially for those who are not yet vegan.
“My main customer isn’t the vegan community,” Helene explained. “The festivals are for people who aren’t vegan yet, to give them that warm welcome and show them how accessible and enjoyable this lifestyle can be.”
The Challenges of Growth and Sustainability
Running ten festivals in a year across five states is no small feat, and Helene candidly shared the hurdles she’s faced.
“2019 was the glory year,” she said. “Then COVID hit, and things haven’t quite bounced back. Vendors are burnt out, and it’s been a hustle to get people to come out.”
To adapt, Helene has scaled back operations to focus more on local events and streamlined logistics to make the festivals more sustainable. Her vision for the future includes finding ways to reduce the burden on her small team while continuing to create impactful events.
Insights You’ll Gain from This Episode
The Business of Vegan Festivals: Learn how Helene balances the logistical challenges of running multiple festivals while staying true to her mission.
Community Building: Discover how inclusivity and positivity are key to growing the vegan movement.
Supporting Small Businesses: Understand the critical role vendors play in these festivals and how supporting them can amplify the vegan message.
Adapting to Challenges: Hear Helene’s approach to navigating post-pandemic struggles and the evolving festival landscape.
Helene Greenberg’s story is a testament to the power of passion and resilience in driving change. Her festivals are more than just events—they are platforms for education, connection, and community growth. Whether you're a plant-based entrepreneur or simply curious about the lifestyle, Helene’s journey offers invaluable lessons on the intersection of business and activism.
🔗 Useful Links:
Website: vegfestexpos.com
Facebook: @vegfestexpos
Instagram: @vegfestexpos
YouTube: @vegfestexpos
TikTok: @trianglevegfest
Listen to the full conversation with Helene Greenberg here: The Power of Community: Crafting a Global Vegan Movement ft. Helene Greenberg
Until next time, keep that fire burning!
Subscribe to the Plant-Based On Fire podcast on YouTube or your favorite streaming platform today and stay connected with our ongoing exploration of the complex plant-based business world.
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Episode’s Transcript
Please understand that a transcription service provided the transcript below. It undoubtedly contains errors that invariably take place in voice transcriptions.
Bryan (00:00.858)
Hello everybody and welcome to Plant Based on Fire where we talk about plant based businesses and their inspiring stories to thrive in our industry. I'm your host Bryan and joining us today is Helene Greenberg from VegFest Expos. She's been an ethical vegan since 2011 and a vegetarian since 1989 and her main focus is to bring festivals to various communities to help educate on the benefits of veganism. Welcome to the show Helene.
Helene (00:29.698)
Well thank you Bryan, I'm really glad I met you in Charlotte.
Bryan (00:32.634)
Yeah, that's how we connected. We went to VegFest Charlotte and fist bumped each other a little bit and got to try all the cool amazing food and snacks and see all those amazing vendors down in the Charlotte area. Thanks for making the drive all the way over, right? You're in the triangle, Norm.
Helene (00:48.64)
I'm in a triangle. woke up early that morning and drove over, got there for the early opening and got to see it had been a hot minute. So they'd seen some of the vendors. So it's always nice to walk around and see the vendors and give them hugs. And so to the ones that are in Western North Carolina, check on them, make sure they're okay.
Bryan (01:03.546)
That's right.
Bryan (01:07.928)
Yeah, it was amazing to see so many places donating some of their profits and to that cause and helping rebuild Western Carolina. So I'm so curious. So we only got to hang out for a few minutes because I had the kids and I had to get to another thing later that day. So I'm so glad you could come on the show today and we could talk a little bit further. But like, take us back in time a little bit. What motivated you to start the Triangle VegFast? And I think that started in 2014. How has it evolved since then?
Helene (01:37.262)
wow. Well in 2014 I was working on getting my masters in education and school counseling and I did a practicum in the spring and then in the fall I needed to do a full-time internship unpaid. So I had about two and a half months in between which you know what do you do? I can't go get a job. can't really, there's really not much you can do with two and a half months. But I said well maybe the community wants a bench cut. And I put it out there and they said yes. So while getting my masters done doing the full-time internship
In four-month period we had our first festival in October 2014 Where we outgrow venue we like 2,000 people It was well. It was like super fun. I was very happy with it. I learned that I like going around and talking to the vendors and other cities and other festivals and Explaining to them why they want to come to our festivals, you know, and it's hard with the first one So I tell people who are starting because
Bryan (02:16.099)
Wow.
Helene (02:34.638)
You have to be really convincing because they don't believe you how many people gonna come. I don't know You know how many vendors you can have I don't know I have a goal I have it. have a number in my head. I had that 2,000 number in my head, but I didn't say it out loud Because I did they would be like you're crazy So and I was super happy and I'm very convincing and I love what I do
Bryan (02:37.464)
Mm-hmm.
Right. That's right. I don't know.
Bryan (02:52.398)
Great. Right, right.
Helene (03:02.368)
So that's just kind of morphed to like where I went to Other cities and I was around and people came to the festivals locally from other cities and they said will you come here? Will you come to Wilmington? Will you come to? all these cities that I've been in and it's funny because it grew to Ten cities in five states, which I did ten festivals last year in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida And I pulled it back this year
Bryan (03:14.49)
Mm-hmm.
Helene (03:31.896)
So I dropped Florida, I dropped Tennessee, and I was in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia this year. And then next year, do a little bit more attrition for my own sanity and my own health. And I'll do a lot of stuff in North Carolina next year. Oddly, not Wilmington, but Asheville, Statesville, Raleigh and Durham. And then Knightdale will probably do some other stuff there as well. And then like I said, Asheville's twice. And then Atlanta, outside of Atlanta as well.
Bryan (03:43.322)
Mm-hmm
Helene (04:02.326)
I think that's it.
Bryan (04:04.696)
That is more, that is plenty. And I'm just so curious, like the two things going through my head, like looking at this from the business side of it is, is how, are you creating a team and railing this? Like, cause there are other festivals, like how do you cross pollinate and collaborate with each other? And then like the bigger goal for me is like,
I try to go to every one of these I can just cause I want to showcase my support. want to go there and buy some stuff from any cool vendors I see and, and support that. But how do you truly measure that impact of helping people become aware of veganism and just, you know, all that kind of stuff. So it's, I'm just curious on those two, those two angles.
Helene (04:48.77)
The people who put these on, don't necessarily cross-pollinate. We are vendors, but the producers and organizers of it depends on the city. I have gotten on the phone and talked and spoken to people for hours trying to explain to them like what goes into doing this. Even like, I mean, I can go for days probably and talk to somebody. It's not written down anywhere. I probably should, but I haven't in 10 years. I haven't written it down.
Bryan (04:55.64)
Hmm.
Bryan (05:08.92)
Mm-hmm.
Helene (05:18.478)
So I just kind of, you just learn lessons as you go. I can walk into an event and go, that won't work. I'm sorry. You can't fix it now, because we're already here. But you won't do it again next year, I promise. Because I did it. So I know, because I made the mistake and I learned from it. And there's some things I can express to people. Then they listen to that and they can avoid some of these pitfalls.
Bryan (05:22.422)
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Bryan (05:31.314)
Mm-hmm.
That's right. That's right.
Helene (05:48.706)
But I've also run out of time with everything that I do to even get on the phone with people at this point. But I mean, I will, I'm always open to helping because the most important thing about doing this is to help spread the message of why you want to eat whole food plant-based, why you want to save the planet, why you want to save the animals and why it's important for your health. So the more that we can do, I won't give away what I've worked for, but I will give you my knowledge.
Bryan (05:53.615)
Yeah.
Bryan (06:15.694)
Yeah,
Helene (06:18.296)
to help you grow and build this wherever you are. And then the most important thing I do, corresponding wise, is the vendors. I absolutely love our vendors. mean, their family, good and bad, ugly and happy and sad, everything, just like family. They are, sorry, I can't help. My dogs will never stay alive for any amount of time. They might get even worse. So.
Bryan (06:21.71)
Yes.
Bryan (06:31.896)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Bryan (06:40.505)
That's okay, that's okay.
Bryan (06:45.312)
Yeah.
Helene (06:47.052)
It sounds like sounds like ups or something, but Yeah, the vendors are I can't do without them So and they know that I will literally do like cartwheels and backflips to help them And that kind of differentiates me from like other people who do this because they know that I'll do cartwheels to help them even at somebody else's festival which I've gotten in trouble for in Charlotte actually, but
Bryan (07:00.942)
Yeah.
Bryan (07:07.94)
That's right.
Helene (07:15.382)
If they need something I will never I will never let them fall I will never let them go underwater like ever I've jumped into food trucks I've I've gone in sold for them. I've like well they have to go to the bathroom I'll stay at their booth. I will do anything that I can to help them and then the second half of that question remind me again
Bryan (07:19.182)
Yeah.
Bryan (07:36.526)
was the team. Well, I guess just the impact of the festivals that you're doing as well.
Helene (07:43.734)
The team right now is me and Callie. Callie is my virtual assistant, extraordinary, awesome, amazing, incredible human being. She's in Tennessee. So everything is digital. And then the day of, or leading up to the week of, I have a team that will come with me and help with set up, breakdown, including volunteers locally. Otherwise it couldn't be done, but I'm leaning and moving towards- Sorry.
Bryan (07:46.554)
you
Helene (08:13.826)
And there's three of them. So that one's so ladybug. And it's not my neighbor probably came up. So like she does every day. She's to be used to it. But yeah, it's I'm trying to I'm trying to lean more towards a way that I don't need as many people to do this because we come with the truck.
Bryan (08:15.556)
That's okay.
Bryan (08:24.931)
Yeah.
Bryan (08:37.753)
Yeah.
Helene (08:40.29)
We come with like tables, tents, chairs, generators. I mean, you name it, a whole family fun zone. We come with it all. And that's a lot. Want to load it and unload it. a lot. And you need help to do that. And then to drive whatever it is, a van or a truck to whatever city we're going to. And then set all that up, break all that down. We have a full retail booth on top of running the event with shirts and stickers and magnets and like our swag bags and VIP bags.
Bryan (08:47.919)
Mm-hmm.
Helene (09:09.486)
So a full retail booth and running the event. it can't, it's impossible for me to do it by myself. And I'm kind of looking at next year, going in a direction of popping in these cities without all those extra things. And just, and just doing like whatever I can fit in my Highlander is what I will bring. And that's it. And, and, and see how that goes. And, also relying on the city that we're in or the venue that we're in.
Bryan (09:24.495)
Yeah.
Bryan (09:29.711)
Right? Yeah.
Helene (09:39.352)
to have some of the things that I've been bringing. Some have the kids stuff, some have a playground. We don't need to bring in the excess. I can rent tables and chairs, it'll just be easier. So yeah, that's the team-wise, technology is my friend.
Bryan (09:42.062)
Yeah. Yeah.
Bryan (09:57.268)
I agree. Every company is a technology company whether they realize it or not, right? So I guess...
Helene (10:03.404)
Yeah, couldn't do without technology. You can't do 10 festivals in five states without some platform that collates all the information. Yeah.
Bryan (10:12.728)
That's right, for sure. And I'm curious, on the appeal, like how do you get the word out to the vegan vegetarian community? then have you pulled the, much of the, how much of the audience is coming in is from other dietary backgrounds and stuff, you know, just to keep it inclusive and appealing to as many people as you can to raise that awareness.
Helene (10:35.446)
yeah, my main customer is someone who's not vegan. That's my main person because I mean, the vegans, thank you, I appreciate you, but the festivals aren't for you. The festivals are for the people who are not yet so that we can grow this community. And it's a warm welcome hug. no, it's, don't, no one at my festival should be making people feel uncomfortable. If they are, I will ask them to leave because the only way to grow a community is for people to want to be a part of it.
Bryan (10:38.489)
Mm-hmm.
Bryan (10:45.262)
Great.
Yeah.
Bryan (10:56.334)
Right. Yeah.
Helene (11:02.818)
And people don't want to be a part of people who are like dicks It does not teach people they want to be part of something that they feel warm and welcome. So these vessels been set up to be like that and I guess I completely lost my train of thought when I get into evenings. I like they start going down
Bryan (11:02.942)
That's right.
Bryan (11:06.515)
Mm-hmm, that's right.
Bryan (11:14.861)
Mm-hmm.
Bryan (11:23.596)
All good, all good.
Well, it's so interesting, right? Because I have not been to one of yours yet, but I felt very welcome at the Charlotte one. Everyone was super, super nice on that front. And the few others that I've been to, even some of the ones where I've had a booth myself, I felt like that tribe of people are right there helping us all carry forward the vision. And I think that's what's unique about a veg fast versus other types of things, because we
are rallied around this more common goal and common tribe than other things. know, it's not, some of these other festivals are not as heart string-ies, I guess, or something.
Helene (12:08.62)
Right, the non-vegans, how I reach them, website, social media, marketing, reels, know, whatever it is to show, like, here's what the food looks like, here's the type of vendors that'll be here. The vendors should resonate with anybody because you need soap, you need shirts, you need, you know, every type of product is at the event.
Bryan (12:16.058)
Mm-hmm.
Bryan (12:26.734)
That's right.
Bryan (12:30.274)
And everybody wants the more natural stuff anyway, and they know they can get it when they come to the veg fest. So what's that? What's the you've been doing this for 10 years now? How have you seen it change? How has public perception changed? And do you see it? Are we are we winning? Are we in the right direction?
Helene (12:35.479)
Right.
Helene (12:48.782)
No I'm so sad to say that like 2019 anyone's doing this for long enough 2019 was like the glory year It was the most amazing everyone was making money. The vendors were like high and high and high And then covid And I worked through covid like I did festivals 2020 2021 22 and on and It hasn't really come back
Bryan (12:56.335)
Yeah.
Bryan (13:04.76)
Yeah, yeah, we're still recovering.
Helene (13:15.554)
I mean, my vendors are burnt out. I'm burnt out just trying to hustle to make things work and try to get people to come out. mean, people are still going out to stuff.
Bryan (13:15.962)
Mm-hmm.
Bryan (13:23.545)
Yeah.
Bryan (13:27.577)
Yeah.
Helene (13:29.368)
But they need to come out to this type of thing. For the main reason is to support these small businesses. I mean, to me, that's like the number one reason to come to a festival. mean, of course, no more reason is food. So I mean, it's the gateway drug to veganism is festivals, vegan festivals. But me as the producer of this, my number one thing is to make sure that people come and help these people make money. Because I mean,
Bryan (13:36.76)
Yeah.
Bryan (13:43.214)
Mm-hmm.
Bryan (13:47.886)
Great.
Bryan (13:55.416)
Mm-hmm.
Helene (13:58.188)
Don't come and just sample feed that people to death don't come and just you know be like I have no money Come with money because do your shopping here do your like your lunch your breakfast your your dinner for that night your lunch or the next day buy all that food because I Promise you will be hungry again After the festival is over and there's so many vendors that you get to try it You can't try them all unless you bring like 20 friends, which I recommend that to you
Bryan (14:06.446)
Mm-hmm.
Bryan (14:18.031)
Yes.
Bryan (14:25.604)
Mm-hmm.
Helene (14:27.502)
Bring a whole bunch of people in order a whole bunch of different foods. You could try everything and then go buy more and you know, you know that you need certain things when you come and plan for that day so that you're like, we're running low on soap instead of going to Walmart or going to Whole Foods or wherever you're to go. I should actually probably say not Walmart based on current events. Target. You're going to target. It's like there's some place like that to get your stuff.
Bryan (14:31.844)
That's right. That's right.
Bryan (14:46.351)
Mm-hmm.
Helene (14:58.21)
that you go, well, there's a festival coming up. Let me look at the vendor list. look, there's things that we need that we probably would buy. Let's go support these people.
Bryan (15:07.726)
Yeah, absolutely. So tell me, like looking back on 10 years of doing this, what has been some of the most memorable moments from past festivals?
Helene (15:20.344)
Having people who I've met come up to me the following year and tell me that the festival made a difference. I've been fortunate enough to get that feedback because sometimes you just don't, right? You can just go through and you would never know if you've made a difference. I'm very fortunate that I have had people come up, you know, a year later and be like, I did this. I watched that movie recommended. I started eating different.
Bryan (15:29.338)
Mm.
Helene (15:50.486)
And then also as I go around, people recognize me and they'll say like I'll be in Whole Foods and they'll walk up to me and say, don't you put on the festival? And I'm just like, yeah, they're like, thank you so much for doing that. And I'll tell you those little moments carry me through the bigger moments of I don't want to do this anymore.
Bryan (16:04.656)
Aw, yeah.
Bryan (16:12.526)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And every business has those ups and downs. And I wish more people were a little bit more outspoken when they have that magical moment and they just tell you or me or whatever that, because I've seen it just, you know, people that have watched an episode or two of this show and have reached out and said something to me, those little things make a big, huge difference and fuel me to keep going on the days. Like you and I are exhausted at the end of the day here, but we're still getting one podcast in the can. So I appreciate you being
here.
Helene (16:45.943)
Thank you, they exactly that's exactly it piano I mean the power of words is super important power positive words even more so and when you know that things are not really you know that things have been people have been struggling you know that there is economy issues you know you just I mean I mean the vendors don't normally show it on their faces, but I can see it Yeah, so just just know that and be kind. I mean, that's probably the most important thing
Is if you bought a shirt from someplace else and you've come upon a next shirt vendor and you're like, I would have loved to get that but I already got a shirt from over there. Just don't say that to them because it's it's it's It if they're already having a bad day it makes it even worse so
Bryan (17:24.13)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Bryan (17:32.835)
Yeah, that's where I like to scope them all out and then go hit them all out and when I walk backwards through everything, but but yeah, I mean you do have to figure out your budget and
Helene (17:42.382)
Lady it's just Sarah so yeah, the best way to veg fast to bug is to Go look at everything first proves the whole thing see what you like and Then you start then you then you get food And then you eat and then you go in your peruse and shop some more you go listen to speakers or music whatever it is because she's the whole day you get the kids faces painted whatever it is
Bryan (17:59.738)
Mm-hmm.
Bryan (18:09.006)
Yeah.
Helene (18:12.428)
And then you go eat again, because it's so much food. And then you work on dessert as well. And then you do your final shopping before you leave, because candles are heavy. I get it. I get there's certain things that you're just not going to buy on the spot. A shirt's easy. You might even put it on. It's light. But candles and the heavier items, soaps and stuff, I get that they're a out-the-door vendor. But just don't forget them as you're going out the door. Yeah.
Bryan (18:14.692)
Mm-hmm.
Bryan (18:22.724)
That's right.
Bryan (18:29.146)
Mm-hmm.
Bryan (18:38.202)
That's right. That's right. And you brought up an interesting thing because that's one of the things that I thoroughly enjoy when I've gone to the VegFest is that educational or the speaker side of it. So how do you, how do you find that balance of all the different types of vendors and the speakers and the educational things? And I I'm sure with your background and education and stuff, it's definitely impacted this.
Helene (19:02.87)
I love education up until like before COVID. I was doing a dedicated education day and then a festival the following day because education is so important to me that I don't want it to compete with the festival. And that's you know, cause the speakers will come sometimes from very far away and they'll come into a room with five people because people literally on the lines for the food. And they get the food and they'll kind of dribble in to.
Bryan (19:16.793)
Hmm.
Bryan (19:20.91)
Mm-hmm.
Helene (19:29.922)
Trickle natural trickle into sitting and eating their food while listening to the speaker and I'm going back to that it kind of I went away from it with kovat because I really want people sitting next to each other breathing in each other's air and Now it was supposed to happen in Asheville But hurricane Helene Ruin that I thought a funny story Sid Garza Hillman. He's amazing. He's an ultramarathon er. He would be perfect for your show He's ultramarathon er. He's an author. He's
Bryan (19:48.782)
Mm-hmm.
Helene (19:59.566)
He's been an actor. He's super funny He was supposed to come in 2022 and the festival got moved because of hurricane Ian This festival has been moved twice for a hurricane Asheville North the mountains of North Carolina has been impacted by hurricane twice So and Sid was supposed to come in 2022 See was supposed to come this year So at this point it's Sid's fault
Bryan (20:10.979)
Mm.
Bryan (20:18.499)
off.
Bryan (20:26.808)
Hahaha
Helene (20:27.47)
I actually think I said I don't know if I sent him that text yet, but I'm going to so I'm afraid to have to like have said come because He's come to other cities. We've been fine, but Asheville seems to be a little cursed with Sid Garza Hillman coming Yeah, it's rich. It is funny
Bryan (20:42.511)
Yeah.
funny. It's so true. It's that thing like you let such when I think of vegan I think Asheville. That's the perfect spot. we all got a market in our calendars and come to the one that you're to put on near Statesville and then next year we're going to have it in Statesville after they get cleaned up hopefully and we can go up there.
Helene (21:11.458)
I'll be in Asheville next year too. I'll be in Asheville twice. Asheville June 22nd and now it's gonna be October 19th. It was October 5th and I asked the city if I could move it to the 19th because that first weekend in October is horrendous. It's still rain from September. It's not really October yet and our weather in October is stunning except for that first weekend. Yep.
Bryan (21:14.926)
Cut.
Bryan (21:27.311)
Yeah.
Bryan (21:36.664)
Yeah. Yeah. And I'm curious, like, how do you find, like the businesses, like the online directories, like veg, reg or happy cow, or some of those kinds of things? Like, what's the, what's the different play for you getting the word out and finding vendors or advertising yourself?
Helene (21:56.194)
I've got 10 years, my vendor list is over 2000. Just alone. And then the vendors are amazing because they do word of mouth. be at, I'll have like one of my sponsors will be up in Boston. He'll talk to the, neighbors. And then I'll get a message that says, and they want to remember that it's him, but I kind of know that it was him. They'll say like, I heard about your festivals from so-and-so. And I'm just like, come on.
So people ask me I go onto Facebook And my my Facebook feed as you can imagine is like all vegan like it's just vegan So people will be like, here's this new restaurant. Here's this new business and I just go and I send them a direct message If I don't know them, just do that people are like you need to have so-and-so at your event You know post that says like who do you want there tag them? That's a great way to do it. That's what that's what Jessica of a vegan street fair does so
Bryan (22:31.214)
Mm-hmm.
Bryan (22:39.544)
Yeah, I love it.
Helene (22:53.494)
I should be doing that too, because it's brilliant. yeah, at this point, 10 years in, mean, there's vendors who will come, vendors who won't come. There's new vendors all the time. There's the vendors that became and when it did this brick and mortar thing. Once they do that, I kind of just lose them. They're so busy at a restaurant. They don't have the staff. They don't have time to come and do a press meeting.
Bryan (23:10.104)
Yeah, yeah, of course. Yeah.
But to me, that's a success story. They graduated from your festivals to have a full-time location to hang out at. So that's awesome. Yeah.
Helene (23:22.254)
I know and I miss you missed a really good food, but there's always someone kind of coming up and this COVID was the creator of food trucks. So many businesses moved into food trucks, so sometimes I could have like 10, 12, 15 food trucks in an event. It's wild. Yeah.
Bryan (23:31.886)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, for sure.
Yeah.
Bryan (23:40.026)
Love it. So what advice would you give somebody looking to start a festival or community event in this space themselves?
Helene (23:51.694)
What a difficult question to answer when you're burnt out I Know I won't say don't do it because I Mean lasting ten years doing this is a long time So I have you have that You need to I'll give the advice I was given I Reached out to Demetrius. He was one of the producers of the movie of educated that Marisa
Bryan (23:57.902)
Don't say don't do it.
Bryan (24:19.641)
Mm-hmm.
Helene (24:21.208)
put them really secreted and Demetrius was like, here's what you need to do. And he went, did something. came back and he said, Charlotte, this is back in 2014, early, I guess it was cause it was two and a half months. It was in the late spring. He's like, Charlotte has a bedchamber. You need to go there. It's close to you. I was like, okay, you need to go there. You need to talk to the vendors and ask them if they'll come to the triangle. And I went, all right. So
that started me on this journey of going to festivals and talking to the vendors and saying, are you interested in an event in such and such city? Because being in the whole Southeast now, somebody is interested in something. And I'm just like, well, I've got this and I this and I just rattle off my schedule. And they're just like, I'm interested. And I just take their business card. reach out to them afterwards and I send them the schedule. That's Franny with the links to actually be able to sign up.
Bryan (25:19.652)
That's right.
Helene (25:20.078)
And that is something that I took to heart and I think is one of the best ways you find the closest, the closest festival to you and go and talk to the vendors. vendors are willing to talk, be cognizant of the fact that they're busy or not busy, but I'm going to tell you even no matter how busy they are, they're still willing to hand you that business card. Chin! Thank you. So.
Bryan (25:34.52)
Yeah, absolutely.
Helene (25:47.918)
They're still going to hand you that business card because they want the opportunities to be able to sell someplace else. And then they pick and choose which one makes sense for their schedule, which one they think will make them the most amount of money, which one will have the biggest crowds. When you have like an Asheville and then you've got like, Asheville would kind of used to be in October, competes with like a Dallas or a Portland.
Bryan (25:53.562)
That's right, absolutely.
Bryan (26:02.17)
Mm-hmm.
Helene (26:14.028)
And you wouldn't think that North Carolina would compete with a Texas or Portland event, an Oregon event, but it would because my vendors travel.
Bryan (26:19.087)
Yeah.
Bryan (26:22.884)
Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate that advice. I think more people should get out there and promote some vegan events, whether it's an expo and a festival like you're doing or just a potluck. Yeah.
Helene (26:24.216)
So, yep.
Helene (26:36.792)
or podcast or your podcast, that's what you, I mean, that's exactly what you were doing. You went, you were like, hey, I'd like to have you on my podcast, Andy with Compassion Company. like, this, it's just to tell like Andy for a second. I don't know if you've reached out to him yet. And he's just, I mean, he's amazing. He is my go-to person for like any question I have for anything that I do with these, with these events. Cause he's gone all over the country. He's seen.
Bryan (26:43.673)
Depth, that's right. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Bryan (26:56.218)
Okay.
Bryan (27:02.764)
I love it.
Helene (27:05.954)
He's seen everything. So I will say like, should I go to the city? Should I do two days? You know, he hates two day events, but you know, he, every time he's told me not to do something and I've done it anyway, he was right. So, so I've, I, I really appreciate having someone like that who's on that side of things. So I don't know people realize that I do talk to vendors. That's Marshall now. I do talk to vendors to say like,
Bryan (27:20.927)
That's right.
Bryan (27:28.025)
Yeah.
Helene (27:35.95)
What do you think makes sense for this? You know, how should we move forward? What can we do to make all of you make all of us more money? What can we do to get more people to come? You know?
Bryan (27:38.53)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Bryan (27:46.744)
Yeah. Yeah. It's yeah. I don't I don't want to be like the downer in it, but like I was in a different meeting earlier today and I was working with this one company and there are more people addicted to opioids in America than vegan.
Helene (28:04.354)
Yeah.
Bryan (28:04.922)
You know, like there's something wrong with the world here when there's a larger percentage of Americans addicted to that. But anyway, we are going to be the change we need to see in this world. And I really appreciate you coming on the show, Helene, and doing everything that you have been doing for 10 years with VegFest Expos. I got one big question for you is like.
How can we help all the people that are watching this that have made it this far in the episode? How can they help you? Where is the next couple of events? How do they get in touch?
Helene (28:35.31)
Well, the best thing you can do is go to vegfestexpos.com. You can also go onto eventty.com and search VegFest Expos, and it'll come up with my list of, actually, think I invented it, it might be Triangle VegFest. It'll come up with a list of everything that's open, and that's where you can donate, can take it to VIP bags, whatever the type of festival or event that it is. Coming up on December 1st in Raleigh and Moors Square, I'm having a festival that...
is also a fundraiser for Western North Carolina to be able to then I'm going to drive stuff over to Western North Carolina after that. And then our vegan mac and cheese cook off, which is our ninth annual, will be on February 16th in Durham. And then from there I go Statesville on three, two that's March, then April 27th back in Raleigh. Then I don't even know if something's happening in May, but June 22nd should be Asheville. And then July 20th.
back in Durham for like, I think like a type of vegan foodie fest type of event. What I just did this past Sunday in Knightdale. And that puts me in July, August 2nd and 3rd, I believe will be the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta, Georgia. It's a new location for Georgia VegFest, which I'm really excited about because it needed to move to a better space and it's been there previously. September 14th, I probably will looking to be in Durham again at Durham Central Park.
Bryan (29:37.06)
Mm-hmm
Helene (30:03.64)
Then that's September, October 20th, October 19th back in Asheville. Hopefully no weather issues. And I just, just, it's, it's cost you. And then November 1st and 2nd, I'm in Durham education day on Saturday and then festival on Sunday. And of course, like there'll be education in Georgia. There'll be education at in States film on the same day as the event. And you know,
Bryan (30:11.445)
You got it moved out a week. You're gonna be good this year.
Helene (30:33.006)
That's my schedule right now.
Bryan (30:36.482)
check out vegfestexposed.com for the full schedule in case it changes or something and sign up for the mailing list so can be all over the upcoming events, right?
Helene (30:40.513)
Yeah.
Helene (30:48.044)
Yeah, I write my newsletter weekly. I write it. It's like me sending you an email and I talk about everything. You just never know what you'll get in there. I don't know what I'm writing until the day I sit down to do it.
Bryan (30:54.114)
Mm-hmm. I love it.
Bryan (31:03.31)
That's how it happens. That's the best work sometimes, you Well, Haley.
Helene (31:06.06)
Yep. Well, thank you, Bryan. I really appreciate this. I mean, it was a lot of fun. I'm glad that we got to do this and hopefully people will come out and support. I mean, that's the biggest thing is convincing people to come out and do this. And I'm not below begging.
Bryan (31:16.324)
That's right.
Bryan (31:24.563)
None of us are. If that's what we need to do to change the world, then we will both be begging any chance we get. So I really appreciate you being here as well. Helene, thank you so much for joining us, sharing your insights and experiences with us in the community. That is all the time we have for this episode of Plant Based on Fire. Until next time, everybody, keep that fire burning.
Helene (31:31.502)
Very accepted.
Helene (31:48.386)
Bye everyone.
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