Vegtoberfest Attendees at the 2026 Vegtoberfest enjoy vegan food and other items from local vendors outside at Harvey’s Garden in Syracuse. (Eliana Rosen/Eliana Rosen)
Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse Veg Collective hosted its second annual Vegtoberfest on Saturday, bringing local vegan vendors and community members together at Harvey’s Garden, a food truck park and beer hall on East Water Street.
The event was free to attend and featured live music, family-friendly activities, a costume contest and vendor booths with food from regional restaurants, tarot and oracle readings, baked goods and homemade crafts. Attendees could also enjoy food trucks and Harvey’s Garden’s beer wall. Vegtoberfest had double the vendor applicants this year, co-organizer Jacqueline Capello said.
Capello and Shelley Borneman are members of the five-person team that founded Syracuse Veg Collective in 2025. The group’s goal is to bring delicious vegan food to the community in an accessible way, Capello said. They have organized Vegtoberfest and Syracuse VegFest for two years.
Capello and Borneman each have German ancestry, which inspired them to theme Vegtoberfest after the traditional Oktoberfest. Toss & Fire, inside Harvey’s Garden, leaned into the theme with soft pretzels, mustard, vegan cheese from Syracuse-based PMA Foods and a special vegan pizza.
Capello’s family rarely ate vegetables and based most meals on meat and dairy, she said. Learning about the impact of animal products on the environment led her to become vegan.
With this festival, these two identities can exist together, Capello said. Her father — who bought her the dirndl she wore Saturday — attended, excited to try the vegan options.
“It’s lovely to be able to have some of our culture, but have it shifted toward forward-thinking times,” Capello said.
Borneman has been vegan for over 20 years, and had been vegetarian before that. She called it the best decision she has ever made; veganism aligns with her values, helps her health and has brought her together with a strong community, she said.
“It’s more important than ever to adopt a plant-based lifestyle, not only for our health but for the environment … and most importantly the animals, to reduce the suffering in the world,” Borneman said.
Borneman said she hopes attendees came with open minds to learn about veganism and the vegan community.
“It’s amazing to hear people walk away like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is vegan, it’s so delicious,’” Borneman said. “Plant-based food is not eating sticks and rocks. Anything can be made vegan and be just as delicious.”
Funk ‘n Waffles Funk ‘n Waffles served an entirely vegan menu to customers at Vegtoberfest. (Eliana Rosen/Eliana Rosen)
Capello hopes the event introduces attendees to new vegan vendors and helps them realize there are still Central New York restaurants with strong vegan options, even though longtime favorite Strong Hearts Cafe closed in July. Syracuse’s Funk ‘n Waffles sold an entirely vegan menu at Saturday’s event, including a plant-based version of Jive Turkey and other dishes.
“I love amplifying our local businesses,” Borneman said. “There’s so much talent out there, and people are going to see that going from table to table.”
The Syracuse vegan community is still strong and growing and is “more than just the restaurants we love,” Capello said.
Members of organizations like Vegan CNY and People for Animal Rights of CNY dedicate time and energy to fighting for vegan causes and educating others. Sunday’s event is a way to have a good party to celebrate it all, Capello said.
Binghamton restaurant Parlor City Vegan was celebrating its 7th anniversary while at the festival, owner Sara Liu said. She said they created a menu with vegan twists on recognizable dishes to make it accessible, even for those who are not vegan. Their Vegtoberfest menu included pumpkin mac and cheese, pumpkin and apple cider curry, and Korean seitan tacos, which sold out during the event.
Liu became vegetarian in 2006 and quickly transitioned to veganism after learning about the effects of industrial agriculture, she said. She opened Parlor City Vegan after making vegan meals for her father while he was recovering from a heart attack. If a “meat and potatoes guy” like him could enjoy the food, anyone could, she realized.
“In Upstate New York, it can be difficult to find vegan options,” Liu said. “Events like this are a good way to show the community what vegan food can look like. We want everyone to see how delicious vegan food can be.”
Sweet on Chocolate Syracuse chocolate shop Sweet on Chocolate offered various vegan items at their Vegtoberfest booth, including vegan nonpareils and dark chocolate bark. (Eliana Rosen/Eliana Rosen)
Carol Messina, director of development and communications for Sweet Farm in the Finger Lakes, said Syracuse always brings out a passionate crowd at vegan events. Messina said the event is a good opportunity to get customers excited about coming to visit the farm.
Sweet Farm began in California, but wildfires and drought drove its founders to relocate to New York. The nonprofit cares for rescued farm animals, grows more than 300 types of heirloom vegetables for local families in need and supports startup companies focused on food and sustainability. They work to help slow and stop climate change, she said.
The most important thing an individual can do to work toward this goal is to eat more plants, Messina said. Events like Vegtoberfest are not meant to try to convert someone to being vegan, but to help them understand how their individual choices, even just one meatless meal, can have a larger impact, she said.
She also appreciates the festival as an opportunity to bring together like-minded vegans who fundamentally understand each other and their work.
“Living a vegan lifestyle can be very alienating,” Messina said. “When you find people that really understand and do care about sustainability and what food production is doing to the planet, they make wonderful advocates for each other. We all collectively lift each other up.”
Faybee Peck was at Sweet Farm’s booth and enjoyed the education they provided to attendees. She said she was sad to have missed Vegtoberfest last year and made it a point to attend this year’s event. Peck, who said she became vegan for her health, agreed with Messina.
“We need a space to get together, to learn, to show other people why it is so important that we are choosing to be vegan, to make friends and make the community bigger,” Peck said.
The free event, sponsored by People for Animal Rights and The Vegan Living Program, also served as a food drive benefiting nonprofit Vegan CNY’s Food Share, a project that provides free homemade plant-based meals and essential supplies. Attendees were encouraged to bring vegan nonperishables and essential items to donate, and to participate in a raffle for monetary support.
“Everybody has a desire to do good and to do the right thing, and people are all in different places in their journeys,” Messina said. “Coming to an event that shows you the diversity of vegan food, vegan products and vegan people is so important.”
People for Animal Rights Attendees browse educational materials from People for Animal Rights of CNY, a local activism group. (Eliana Rosen/Eliana Rosen)
