Scheduled to return on September 7, Richmond’s Soul Vegan Block Party will warmly welcome all types of foodies for a celebration of plant-based dining.

The free vegan food fest aims to challenge the stigma “that there’s no SOUL in plant-based eating.” Its website states that its goal is to make living “a healthy and ethically conscious plant-based lifestyle” more widespread. The block party will have tons of vegan delights to try, live music, cooking demonstrations, and guest speakers.

Photos from previous events show Black attendees dancing, shopping, and happily eating vegan. The block party, which has been going on since 2021, embraces everyone “regardless of race, gender, age, or sexual orientation. That said, its self-proclaimed focus is ‘uplifting communities of color.”

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What Should I Know About Attending The Soul Vegan Block Party?

It’s an all-day, six-hour event from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. To score a free ticket, register on Eventhub by August 2. Attendees from outside Richmond can receive discounted rates for a hotel stay at the local Four Points by Sheraton.

Sponsor and vendor applications are still open. In keeping with the festival’s healthy and environmentally friendly vibe, no styrofoam containers are allowed on the grounds, and alcohol sales will be prohibited. All products in the marketplace must be animal-free, cruelty-free, and not tested on animals. Moreover, the products can’t contain beeswax, gelatin, leather, wool, or fur.

The event is happening at Abner Clay Park in Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward neighborhood. The Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) stated that the area had “one of the nation’s most thriving Black business communities” at the turn of the 20th century. The source claims that although the site is smaller now, Jackson Ward continues to be a Black hub.

“The neighborhood developed before the Civil War and originally was populated primarily by citizens of German and Jewish extraction but with many free Blacks. After the war Jackson Ward gradually became predominantly Black,” detailed DHR. “Redevelopment and expressway construction have reduced its size, but the remaining blocks place Jackson Ward among the nation’s largest historic districts associated primarily with Black culture.”

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), located in Richmond, added that the area is home to the Hippodrome Theatre, which regularly saw Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.