Buneba Festival, Tbilisi’s first large-scale eco-vegan festival, will be held in Mziuri Park from June 17-18. You won’t want miss it.
Buneba Fest’s team of event organizers and vegans and animal lovers have been hard at work preparing a weekend filled with informative lectures, master classes, live concerts, delicious tastings, and workshops. The Buneba Fest team says guests will be able sample a variety of vegan cuisine at the foodcourt, featuring some the country’s best chefs and vendors. They will also have a marketplace where they can browse and discover a wide range of plant-based products and sustainable items.
Georgian veganism is a young movement, but it is growing quickly. In 2022 you might have noticed that many new vegan restaurants and cafes opened in Tbilisi, Batumi and on the market were new vegan products. It is therefore timely to hold a large event that will help local people become familiar with this market and learn what veganism means.
GEORGIA NOW fully supports Buneba’s efforts to promote a more conscious, sustainable world, for both animals and humans. We will be attending the festival this weekend with our children, where we will learn from experts and advocates about topics such as animal care, ethical living and healthy eating. We will also participate in vegan masterclasses. We will also have the opportunity to enjoy live music performances by local artists, and soak up the positive atmosphere of the festival.
GEORGIA TODAY sat with two Georgian women who were among the many involved in organizing the festival – Vegan Georgia president Nini Turiashvili, and Tamar Gverdtsiteli a freelance graphic design.
Nini tells me that “Buneba Festival” is the first large event in Georgia to promote animal rights and environmental protection. The festival is organized by Vegan Georgia, in collaboration with Anima International. The international team has successfully held events since 2010. The event will include catering spaces, lectures and musical performances, workshops, as well as a market and other educational and entertaining activities for all segments of society.
“Our organization Vegan Georgia is composed of managers, journalists and lawyers, as well as many other experts from various fields. Together with other animal activists, we have been very active in organizing events and actions. We decided that we were ready to organise something more grandiose. Buneba Festival was born from this idea. We chose Mziuri as the venue for the festival because it is a popular place to hang out on hot summer days and the layout of this central park in Tbilisi perfectly suited our festival’s goals. We met many new activists while working on the festival, which was a great discovery for us.
She notes that “the festival supports businesses and nonprofit projects that are involved in the production of eco friendly and animal-free goods.” “Our main objective with Buneba Festival is to raise awareness about the idea of animal liberation, the vegan lifestyle and an eco-friendly worldview.”
She stresses that Buneba Fest will not be a commercial event. The money and donations will be used to support animal rights activism, veganism, and technical support for Buneba Fest.
Tamar explains: “I signed up as a volunteer when I saw that Georgia’s Vegans were organizing a Buneba Festival, and they needed helpers. I wanted people to learn more about veganism and to understand the cruelty to animals, vegan nutrition, and their connection to a healthy lifestyle and environment.”
“I have been vegan for a long time and started a blog where I share simple vegan recipes with people who can’t live without meat and dairy.
“We expect that more people will become interested in environmental issues, and veganism, as a result attending this two-day event. This will give them the chance to get all of the information they require. This event is about having fun, without harming the animals or the environment. There will be lectures on cruelty-free products and food, as well as activities that are done with minimal damage to the environment.
Tamar concluded, “I believe Buneba Festival will make it easier to understand the environmental challenges we’re facing and their footprint and to consider doing positive things about that impact.”
Buneba Fest has Facebook and Instagram pages where you can find the latest updates.
By Katie Ruth Davies
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