Dogs, Veggie Art, and Vegan Nail Polish are Among the Lures for Children and Families at U.S. Veg Corp's NYC Vegetarian Food Festival

New York, NY, February 18, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Storytelling, craft projects, a musical jam session, and animal petting opportunities will all be part of the special children’s area at this year’s New York City Vegetarian Food Festival, to take place 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., March 1-2, at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea.

The stories will be supplied by members of the NYC Vegetarian & Vegan Families Meet-Up group, using animal-friendly books from Vegabooks.

One popular storytelling duo consists of Lori and Hay Carscadden. Lori hosts an organic produce co-op in New Jersey, while her teenaged daughter Hay blogs for YourDailyVegan.com. At the Festival, the pair will also help children do coloring and collage projects on animal themes.

Ro Narbe and Heather Soyring, from Finger Lakes Adopt-A-Grey, will share a selection of children’s books about greyhounds. They’ll also have activity sheets that introduce kids to this gentle, friendly dog breed. And there will be two live greyhounds on hand for families to “meet and greet.”

Beauty queen Acacia Courtney (Miss New York City 2013) will read the story Dave Loves Chickens, about an outer space monster who can’t understand what human earthlings eat.

Michelle Weinstein will facilitate the making of elephant crafts and will hand out elephant comic/coloring books. She is an animal rights advocate and vegan who was instrumental in banning all performing animal acts from her college campus back in 2001.

Lisa Revelli will make animal masks with the children, and she will teach them about farm animals. Lisa is a vegan designer/illustrator and a graduate of Parsons School of Design. Her vegan clients include Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, Mercy for Animals, and Sweet and Sara Marshmallows.

TLB Music, formerly Three Little Birds Music, will sponsor a music-making session where children can play small instruments, meet big instruments like the trumpet and the violin, and learn fun facts about animals. TLB is a children’s music studio and eco-friendly indoor play-space located on the Upper East Side.

Rounding out the children’s activities, Christina Burke will offer face-painting using vegan paint, and Dianna Mohammed will provide manicures using eco-friendly Hopscotch Kids nail polish.

Parents will have the chance to pick up literature at the Coalition for Healthy School Food table. Information will also be available from HEART: Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers.

In addition to the children’s programming, the Festival offers a wide variety of speakers for the adults. They include cardiologists Dr. Robert Ostfeld and Dr. Joel Kahn, author Steve “Sproutman” Meyerwitz, nutritionist Ashley Koff, and Vegan Radiance blogger Lauren Walls.

Approximately 100 vendors will be showing and sampling their wares, including Organic Living Superfoods, Herbivore Clothing, The Kale Factory, and Rescue Chocolate. There will also be musical entertainment, raffles, and stand-up comedy throughout the weekend.

Admission tickets can be purchased in advance at https://2014nycvegfoodfest.chirrpy.com/ or at the door. For further information, visit http://nycvegfoodfest.com/.