Organisers

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VegfestUK Brighton is organised by Tim Barford from Yaoh. Tim has been organising veggie events in the UK for  a decade now, and his first show was back in 2003 (The Bristol Vegan Fayre, which he founded) attracting around 1500 visitors. Tim organises VegfestUK Brighton in March and VegfestUK Bristol in May, whilst running his hemp company Yaoh.

Tim & his team have recently been honoured by the Vegan Society in their 2011 awards, where he has won the 'Best Vegan Achievement' award, for an outstanding contribution to veganism - see below for details.

Tim is supported by a fantastic team of people including:

• Fred, taking care of the accounts in the office
• Laura, responsible for sales, marketing, Twitter and Facebook
• Philippa, taking care of our stallholders
• Alan - a recent addition to the team
• Mike from Brighton Web Design Company Subzerostudio, our dedicated webman
• Out Of Hand, taking care of all our print and design requirements (www.outofhand.co.uk )
• Excellart, our ethical PR team  (www.excellart.co.uk )
• Mad Promotions, our veggie pr team (www.mad-promotions.co.uk )
• Yaoh hemp products for all round support (www.yaoh.co.uk )
• Foods for Life for consultancy and advice (www.foodsforlife.co.uk )
• Delta Security
• Dime Events
• Muir Walker Medics
• Our main sponsors over the years, including Beanies, Nakd Wholefoods, Bute Island, The Vegan Society, Redwood Foods and many many more....
• + big help from the UK's leading vegan campaigners including Viva!, Animal Aid, Sea Shepherd and many many more
• + a wide network of individuals, groups, charities, businesses and people accross the UK and beyond, who all work together to help organise, promote and produce VegfestUK Brighton - one of Europe's biggest veggie events. Big thanks to all those helping out - appreciated

 events that Tim and his team have organised

2012    VegfestUK Bristol

            VegfestUK Brighton

2011     VegfestUK Bristol

            VegfestUK Bristol Fringe

            VegfestUK Brighton

2010     Bristol Eco Veggie Fayre

            Brighton Eco Veggie Fayre

2009     Reading Eco Veggie Fayre

            Croydon Eco Veggie Fayre

            Bristol Vegan Fayre

            Brighton Vegan Fayre

2008     Bristol Vegan Fayre

2007     Bristol Vegan Fayre

2006     Bristol Vegan Fayre

2005     Bristol Vegan Fayre

2004     Bristol Vegan Fayre

2003     Bristol Vegan Fayre

Tim Barford wins the Vegan Achievment Award 2011 for VegfestUK

VegfestUK Bristol & Brighton Organiser honoured in Awards Ceremony 

The organiser of the world’s biggest veggie events, held annually in Bristol and Brighton, has been honoured for his work by The Vegan Society in their recent awards ceremony. Tim Barford, founder of VegfestUK, won the ‘Best Vegan Achievement’ award in the 2011 ceremony for his outstanding work in creating what has become the biggest vegan events anywhere in the world. 

Thousands of visitors flocked to the two free VegfestUK events during 2011 and many more read about the shows in the media, and over 100 stalls exhibited at both events alongside a full programme of talks, cookery demos, workshops, films and presentations about a wide variety of aspects of the vegan lifestyle. 

Tim started his first vegan event back in 2003 and is already planning his events for 2012. ‘Interest in the vegan lifestyle is growing at quite a rate’ says Tim ‘and that is reflected in the growth of the shows. What started back in 2003 with 40 stallholders and 1500 visitors has grown to see over 16,000 visitors to Brighton and Bristol in 2011, with even more expected in 2012 as both show grow an extra day to cope with demand. It’s become a full time occupation and I am very honoured to be recognised by The Vegan Society for the contribution made towards helping people adopt a veggie/vegan lifestyle. It’s never been more important to encourage people to go down this route, what with the significant advantages a plant based diet has to health, animal welfare, global food production and the environment.’ 

Tim is quick to point out though that this achievement is not about just himself, but a whole team of supporters, sponsors, stallholders, volunteers and contractors. ‘The thing about VegfestUK is that it really is a team game’, says Tim. ‘It would be unthinkable to be able to achieve so much without the help of so many, and this award is really an award to be shared with hundreds if not thousands of others. It’s a fantastic feeling when people come together to achieve so much as a team, and to be at the helm of such a ship is a real honour in itself, and now an even bigger honour since the announcement of this award.’

Tim – who manages his own hemp company Yaoh (www.yaoh.co.uk) – runs VegfestUK as a full time volunteer and doesn’t take a wage or expenses for his efforts, and his events for 2012 remain completely free to the public. VegfestUK Brighton is on March 17th and 18th 2012 and Bristol is on 25th – 27th May 2012 – for more information about these two events see the website www.vegfest.co.uk  

To view the results on the Vegan Society website please visit http://www.vegansociety.com/about/vegan-awards/award-results.aspx

 For more information about VegfestUK events or interviews with Tim, contact 0117 3079872 or email info@vegfest.co.uk