A planned new vegan festival scheduled for the Open Space September 14-15 has been delayed to 2020.

MI Green Team L3C had planned to launch Traverse City VegFest at the Open Space, bringing 50-80 exhibitors offering a “wide variety of animal-free products, services, programs, and displays,” 15+ expert presentations and cooking demonstrations, healthy and plant-based concessions from 10-20 vendors, and live music, according to project documents. But organizer John Batdorf says delays in city approvals will now push the project back a year.

"On Friday, we received notice of the first significant concerns regarding the event," he says. "These were from a city commissioner, necessitating our fourth presentation, on August 5, and approval by the city commission, instead of by city staff as expected all along. Even if approved, that would leave us just five weeks to confirm sponsor, media, exhibitor, and presenter participation and complete public marketing. We simply have run out of time to produce a major event worthy of the TC veg community."

Batdorf continues that the event "generated a lot of interest in a veg festival and made many helpful contacts, so the effort has not been wasted. We’ll make plans for a 2020 event at a location and dates that work better for all involved..we look forward to working together next year to promote the hopeful message of plant-based living to a wider audience."