Hannah Collisson speaks to Tim Barford, founder of VegfestUK Brighton, one of Europe’s largest vegan events.

Vegfest is not just for vegans, says Tim, whose vision is for the festival to be inclusive, entertaining, and family-friendly.

The two-day Brighton event is this year expanding in size, and will be held at the Brighton Centre for the first time, following the closure of the Hove Centre, its home since 2009.

This year there will be 160 stalls, food, cookery demonstrations, live music, cinema, talks, and activities for children.

“We had very much outgrown the Hove Centre,” says Tim, who also puts on similar events in Bristol and London.

“We were limited to 135 stalls, which last year sold out two months ahead, and visitor numbers have increased dramatically over the last few years.”

In 2014, 5,500 people attended Vegfest over the two days, and in 2013 the figure was 7,000, a spike Tim explains as the reaction to the scandal of 2013 when traces of horsemeat were found in some supermarket beefburgers.

A celebration of all things vegan, Tim says that Vegfest has a clear “go vegan” message, but he recognises that some people have heard this message and chosen to reject it, while others may not be ready to take this step.

“We are finding that a lot of people are coming to Vegfest and in either a small way, or a dramatic way, people are making changes to their diet,” says Tim.

“For some it’s a life-changing experience; for others it’s just a really good day out.”

In terms of food, Vegfest offers something to suit all tastes, with a Food Village home to 15 caterers from around the world dishing up everything from vegan doner kebabs to Caribbean cuisine.

However Vegfest is about more than just food, with bars, performances, a kids’ area, and stalls with products from fashion to vitamins and cosmetics.

There are also a number of new events made possible by the larger venue.

One of these is the UK’s first vegan comedy festival with some well-known names on the bill including Andrew O’Neill and Jake Yapp.

Being vegan themselves, the comedians can make jokes about veganism that non-vegan comedians would never dare to, says Tim, while the humour is also likely to be to the taste of many non-vegans.

There is a global food sustainability conference, which Tim says focuses on solutions rather than problems, and hears from those who have come up with answers.

A party political conference will see the questions of animal welfare, food sustainability and health put to members of the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Green Party, and Animal Welfare Party, ahead of the General Election.

Tim says that the number of people who are “flexitarian” is ever increasing. This term describes those who eat meat and dairy but are interested in vegetarian and vegan options.

This is echoed by the prevalence of non-dairy alternatives in supermarkets; soya, almond, and coconut milks are now stocked as standard, and rice and hemp milk are also often on offer.

“There has been a huge rise in dairy-free products, and that’s almost undoubtedly here to stay,” says Tim.

He suggests that instead of struggling with low prices, dairy farmers switch production to hemp.

“It’s cheap to grow with no pesticides needed, and fetches a decent price,” says Tim, who runs hemp company Yaoh. “There’s a big market for it, and most supermarkets stock hemp products. It’s a fantastic food source, as well as being used for building materials and paper.”

Tim, who is based in Bristol, has been vegan for 31 years, since the age of 21, though he grew up eating meat and dairy.

“I used to be quite a serious, uptight vegan,” admits Tim. “But as you get older, life experiences teach you not to take yourself too seriously. You can take your issues seriously, but not yourself.”

Tim has been organising vegan events since 2003 when he founded The Bristol Vegan Fayre.

“My original aim was to put a bit of rock and roll into the vegan concept. Without any disrespect to the people who carried the vegan message into the 1990s, it was quite a closed, underground thing.”

He is all about inclusivity, making the point that nobody will be questioned about their diet or lifestyle, and meat-eaters are welcome.

  •  VegfestUK Brighton takes place on March 28 and 29 at the Brighton Centre, Kings Road, Brighton.
  •  Tickets on the gate are £8 (£4 concessions) with children under 16 free. Advance tickets are £5 (day) / £8 (weekend) + booking fees. Buy one get one half price until March 21. To book visit brighton.vegfest.co.uk/admission