Alive Fest comes to Gosford

The plant-based festival Alive Fest will bring Gosford’s Leagues Club Park to life from 9am-4pm on Saturday, March 23.

Co-ordinator Glenn Fraser said support from Central Coast Council had been solid.

“I’m so thrilled that government agencies are starting to get behind the plant-based experience to offer real opportunities for a community that genuinely wants to lean into change for the better,” he said.

Visitors travel to Alive Fest from all over the state and international support has manifested via charity campaigner Heather Mills and her VBites brand.

“People come for the food, bring their kids and their hounds, and love casting their eyes over the artisanal wares on offer while the smooth sounds of local musicians course across the park,” Fraser said.

“We want to show that we can all have a fantastically good time, eat tantalising, internationally-themed meals right on the picturesque Gosford waterfront – all without costing the planet.

“We even have vegan soft-serve ice cream to tantalise the locals and I know that’s going to be a real hit.”

Heather Mills of VBites said one plant-based meal a week took off a bit of pressure and two was even better.

“Events like Alive Fest don’t just bring community together; they show us that change is possible, and it just happens to be very, very tasty,” she said.

Joining the festival will be Pachamama Catering.

“When I first studied under acclaimed US vegan chef Matthew Kenney at New York’s Food Future Institute, I didn’t realise how life-changing the experience was going to be,” owner Ali Bishop said.

“I’ve known for a long time the pressure that animal-based agriculture puts on the planet.

“Eating meat and dairy is really being shown up for the environmental damage it’s causing and as a substantial driver of climate change, and I wanted to do something about it – one amazing meal at a time.”

Bishop drives a community outreach with the food she makes and partners with worthwhile causes such as Coast Shelter, Rotary and the Central Coast Domestic Violence Committee.

Pachamama is named after the South American earth mother deity and resonates with a stewardship of the planet.

“By providing exciting and delicious plant-based options, meat eaters are often tempted to try things they might not have had the opportunity to try in the past,” Bishop said.

“They are always impressed, and I often hear things such as ‘I could go vegan if all food tasted this good’.”