For our concept Vegans of Amsterdam, we asked Idalia Pina about the vegan friendly festivals she attended in Amsterdam. In this article she will write about vegan friendly festivals and events in Amsterdam. It’s a great time to be alive, especially with so many vegan options becoming available, it’s no surprise to see the dairy industry at an all time low & slaughterhouses closing down.
Vegan Friendly Music Festivals
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, not just for the animals but for our planet and our entire well being as well. Just as the vegan movement continues to grow, so does vegan tourism. More than ever, people are flocking to tourist destinations not just for the sights and history, but for the fact that most of these major cities are becoming vegan-friendly.
Not only can you take a stroll along the quaint canals of Amsterdam, but you can also sink your teeth into a mouth watering double plant-based beef with vegan cheddar from Vegan Junk Food Bar or enjoy one of their signature McChik-N’s at Amsterdam’s annual techno festival, Awakenings.
You can also indulge in some sugary churros or empanadas and wash it down with a cold Heineken from Amsterdam Vegan Food Festival which was held in Westergasfabriek this past August. As the demand for vegan eateries go up, more pop-ups & events sprout throughout the city of Amsterdam.
Eco Friendly Festivals
During the spring & summer time, music festivals also take place throughout the Netherlands, bringing people from all over the world to enjoy the music and vibes. Personally for me, being vegan isn’t just about the food. It’s about the environment as well, and being that I love music & attending festivals, we know that with a large gathering there is bound to be waste. Several festivals occurring in Amsterdam have taken great lengths to provide not only exceptional talent but to create a more sustainable environment.
DGTL Festival Amsterdam
One great example is DGTL, which always takes place during Easter weekend at the NDSM Docklands. The old shipyard, located on the waterfront of the city harbour, is the setting for a memorable season opener, with two full days and one night of festival, six stages and a colossal line-up with over 80 artists. DGTL Revolution strives to be unique in the festival world.
With a focus on sustainability and innovation, their goal is to become a circular festival in 2020, which means, becoming completely waste and emission free. A couple of their sustainable pillars are being meat-free, a hard cup rotation system, a resource plan instead of a waste plan, and all of their merchandise is sustainable and the urine of visitors is being recycled to a fertilizer.
Dekmantel Festival Amsterdam
This past August I was happy to attend Dekmantel Festival held in the gorgeous Amsterdamse Bos, surrounded by nature and electronic music. With hardcore raving there is a necessity to refuel ones body and that’s where the food comes in. Walking around the food area I noticed several vendors catering to Vegans with several options available as well as gluten free options. I didn’t just eat fries either, I ate a delicious falafel served fresh & warm, shitake mushroom ramen, and so much more.
The water stations throughout the festivals were a huge plus for me, so if you brought a re-usable cup, you could easily skip a plastic water bottle purchase and refill your re-usable cup with clean, cold water. The possibilities were endless, you can enjoy 10 hours at a festival and still be guaranteed savory vegan food. This definitely serves as a good way for many pop-ups & restaurants to gain exposure for their vegan options.
Dekmantel did a great job in separating waste accordingly, having two bins separate the plastic from the rest of the waste, a vigilant cleaning staff that picked up waste without bothering festival-goers, but the use of plastic cups was still present and I found myself dancing over a bunch of plastic cups & cigarette butts as the night went on.
ADEGreen during Amsterdam Dance Event
What can we do as a music community to limit the use of plastic cups? That’s where ADEGreen comes in. ADEGreen, taking place during Amsterdam Dance Event in October, is a pioneering conference on sustainability, innovation and social change in the music industry.
One of the panels Cup, Cup, Cup from Waste to Resource – presented by Heineken, will be present during this conference which will discuss these issues. “Any place where people come together to consume for a short amount of time, and where there’s limited or no access to water and energy, is a place where single-use packaging is most likely to be chosen by organizers, prioritizing convenience over sustainability”.
Sustainablility during festivals and events
So how can we create a more sustainable environment where a large gathering occurs?
In this panel people in the event industry share their experience, the up- and the downsides, and it’s a great way for consumer and client to interact to create a solution to a mass problem occurring throughout the world.
This is just one of the panels present during ADEGreen which will motivate people to take action, demand change, and create solutions for a more sustainable future which in return can create more raves for music lovers all over the world.
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