RI VegFest is a big fully vegan event in Providence, Rhode Island (hosted by a vegan!), featuring food, pop up restaurants, beverages, a bar with unique vegan cocktails and beer, vegan makers, non-profits, cookbook authors, and more. We’re focused on introducing exciting vegan food, beverages, and brands to the community, by hosting a fun and positive minded party.

RI VegFest is held annually in February at WaterFire Arts Center (475 Valley Street, Providence, RI).

We value community over competition, and we are always looking for positive minded people who are enthusiastic about promoting their own vegan/vegan friendly businesses, the events they participate in, and the other vegan/vegan friendly small businesses in the community.

All vendors at RI VegFest must commit to ONLY bringing products, food, and beverages that are fully vegan to the event. Items cannot contain any ingredients derived from animals, including, but not limited to, any amount of honey, beeswax, whey, dairy, eggs, wool, leather, etc. Please do not apply if you cannot adhere to this.

It is not a requirement for vendors to be vegan themselves - we’re excited to welcome restaurants and food producers who support and appreciate the vegan community. As this is not a craft show, when it comes to makers, we do prioritize vegan makers over non-vegan makers. For example, we would accept a vegan candlemaker over a candlemaker who is not vegan.

We review the social media accounts and websites of our applicants - your ability and willingness to promote your work regularly and participate in your community is key! We can’t accept applicants with private Instagram accounts because….well, we can’t promote what we can’t see.

We do not, and will never, accept multi-level-marketing vendors.

Applications typically open 8-10 months in advance of the February event, and will only be available on the RI VegFest website. We do not send applications out via email or social media, and we do not solicit applicants directly in vendor groups online or elsewhere.

Please beware of scammers - we are not responsible for payments made to people who are not associated with RI VegFest.

RI VegFest does not charge an application fee, and we will not ask applicants for any type of payment until we review applications and send acceptance letters out. Please beware of scammers!

All applicants will be notified of their status in the fall. Be sure to add our email address, hello@vegfestri.com, to your contacts list, so we don't end up in your spam!

Upon acceptance, you’ll fill out the contract form for accepted vendors and remit payment within a period of time specified in the “welcome” email. Vendors of food/beverage products must also submit a certificate of insurance as the event gets closer with specific entities listed as “additionally insured”, and will need to comply with all RI Dept of Health food safety regulations.

ALL items must be received in order for us to consider you confirmed and reserve your booth space - so don't wait!

It isn't personal, we promise. The curation process takes us nearly forty hours to complete, it is extremely difficult, and we take it seriously. For all of our events, we have a number of factors that we take into consideration, in no particular order: whether or not your business is a good fit for the event, your ability and willingness to promote your business and promote the events you participate in, active social media accounts that give us a good idea of the types of things you sell and what your event displays might look like, the age of your business (we aim to make room for both newer and more well-known/established businesses), location of your business (50% of our vendors are local to RI and the rest are from New England and beyond, because we believe networking and collaborating outside of your own local community can help businesses grow), and what you sell/make.

While keeping those factors in mind, we are also always looking to create a diverse and equitable event and make space for those who are members of the BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and disabled communities.

RI VegFest reviews hundreds of applicants thoroughly for each event. Due to space and capacity constraints, we are not able to accept everyone who applies.

We’ll retain your contact information, and if a spot becomes available in a category we think you would be a good fit for, we will reach out to you.

PLEASE NOTE:

Past participation in our events does not guarantee a place for your business at our future events. We love and appreciate you (and would love to have you back!), but we are also committed to providing opportunities for new businesses, too.

RI VegFest is not curated like a typical maker event, and we do not generally accept makers of artisanal goods unless the maker is a vegan/vegetarian person. We do accept food businesses and restaurant popups that are not owned by vegan/vegetarian people, if they regularly provide vegan options on their menu.

Welcome to Rhode Island! We work with area hotels to secure discounted room blocks, and we will share the information with accepted vendors via email.

Bring anything you need to set yourself up for a successful weekend! This includes a table and chairs (rentals are available if you need them), a 20 foot extension cord and a power strip (please communicate with us about your electrical needs in advance), a reusable water bottle (WaterFire Arts Center has water refill stations), cash to make change with if you are a vendor who accepts cash payments (there are no ATMs on site), a back-up charging brick for your mobile device, a hand truck or wheeled cart to help the load-in and load-out go faster, ....and if you are obtaining a temporary RI Retail Sales Permit from us, you MUST bring a check to pay sales tax to the State of RI Department of Tax at the end of the weekend.

Please do not bring alcohol, drugs, pets, therapy/emotional support animals, or musical instruments/speakers to play music at your own booth (we've got speakers everywhere and a great playlist).

PLEASE NOTE:

Vendors are not permitted to tape or affix any items such as banners, backdrops, or merchandise to the floors or walls with tape, nails, or tacks of any kind. Failure to adhere will result in the vendor paying for any damages caused. If your booth involves water or other liquid, you MUST keep the floor dry at all times.

RI VegFest accepts a number of popup restaurants/concessions vendors, and we also welcome producers of small batch packaged food items to apply (crackers, salsa, you get the idea!). All food and beverage producers must supply a certificate of insurance with a specific list of entities included as "additionally insured" - we will give you all the info you need in order to do this. If you are participating in our RI event, you must also supply us with a RI Dept of Health certificate. If you don't have one - don't worry. We will point you in the right direction!

Electricity is available for an additional fee of $50, as the venue charges for usage - and all equipment must be approved in advance. Vendors are not permitted to cook with propane, open flames (other than sterno, which must be approved in advance), or deep fryers indoors at the event.

Yes, all vendors must commit to vending at both days of the event for the entirety of the event. Packing up or leaving early will cause you to wind up on our no-no list forever.

Yes, the venue is fully ADA compliant and mobility aids are welcome. Handicap parking is available right out front. If you have any questions or require any additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Free on-site parking is available for all vendors. We have a designated parking area directly behind the venue that provides you easy access to your vehicle.

We do not recommend leaving your vehicle at the venue overnight. If you do leave a vehicle overnight and something does happen, we are not responsible and WaterFire Arts Center is not responsible.

We love animals (obviously!) - but this event is not pet friendly, per the RI Department of Health. Please leave your pets at home. There are no exceptions, and we cannot refund your tickets if you sneak a Shitzu in.

Service dogs that are trained to work or perform a task for persons with disabilities are welcome. Comfort, therapy, and emotional support animals are not service animals and are not recognized by the ADA, and are not allowed, per our insurance regulations and venue restrictions.

Yes, we have an incredible security team who patrols the event area while monitoring all entrances and exits. We hire non-police security who focus on calmly deescalating any situations that arise.

While we do have security, we cannot guarantee that theft will not occur. If you see something, please find a member of our security team or staff to assist you.

RI VegFest and WaterFire Arts Center are not responsible for any theft or loss of items at our events.

Yes - you are welcome to leave your displays intact overnight. The venue is locked and secured directly upon the close of the event.

We recommend that vendors take any high-dollar items, cash, computers, tablets, phones, and POS systems with them.

We do not recommend leaving your vehicle at the venue overnight.

RI VegFest and WaterFire Arts Center are not responsible for any theft or loss of items at our events.

There is an optional two-hour period on Friday night for vendors to load-in, from 5-7 pm. We strongly recommend participating if you can. Saturday load-in begins at 8 am. All vendors must be in the building and actively loading in by 9 am. Late arrival may cause us to remove you from the event and replace you with someone from the waitlist.

Our vendor booths are non-refundable and are not transferrable to other vendors. We work hard to curate an eclectic fully vegan event, and all participants sign vendor agreements agreeing to event terms in advance.

Vendor booths are for accepted vendors only, as we must comply with all RI State Tax Laws and RI Dept of Health regulations. Our event is carefully curated, and all vendors must apply individually and be accepted in order to pop up at RI VegFest.

Sure! We are able to rent 8 foot tables and up to two chairs for each vendor. We are not able to rent linens. f you need to rent clothing racks, refrigerators/freezers, or other equipment, we may be able to connect you to a local events rental company.

RI VegFest follows all state and federal regulations related to sales permits and the collection of sales tax. This information varies from state to state, and once you’re accepted, we will provide you with the information you need to be successful here in RI. Obtaining a sales permit is not optional - and if you don’t have one, we will point you in the right direction! You must collect sales tax on all items that are taxable. Failure to collect sales tax on taxable items means that we unfortunately won’t be able to invite you back.

What can we say? We just like books!

The book swap is held annually and is located near the check-in table. Bring your gently used books and swap them for something new (to you).

We’ll get the swap started with some random books from our own collection, including vegan cookbooks - we hope you’ll join us!

Please, no encyclopedias or textbooks.

Visit our check-in table - lots of things are turned in to us during events. If you realize your item is missing after you've already left, you can send us a message via email, or send a DM on social media.

Don't be a jerk. We have a zero tolerance policy for rudeness or harassing behavior directed at our staff, the venue staff, our vendors, and other attendees. We will remove you from the event immediately and without a refund, so please just don't.