A festival dedicated to vegans has been declared the ‘Fyre Festival’ of plant-based treats, after attendees claimed the event featured long queues, insufficient staff and a lack of water and shade.
Vegandale, held on September 14 at Citi Field in Queens, New York, attracted thousands of vegan enthusiasts, who flocked to the stadium, excited to see the more than 200 vegan vendors and musical performances.
However, the festival struggled to accommodate the huge crowds, with ticket holders angry after being forced to wait in line for hours in the heat and struggle to find shade or water.
The event’s disorganization drew comparisons to the 2017 Fyre Festival, which promised guests a weekend of luxury but ended with attendees stranded on an island with no running water, almost no food and only a mattress in a tent to sleep on.
Although promotional material for the Vegandale festival showed hordes of happy customers enjoying delicious vegan bites, the reality was very different.
A festival dedicated to vegans has been declared the ‘Fyre Festival’ of plant-based treats, after attendees claimed the event featured long queues, insufficient staff and a lack of water.
Furious festival-goers then took to social media to share their angry response to the unimpressive event.
People called the festival, which featured performances by GoRilla, Polo G and Kidi, a “huge mess” and a “massive disaster.”
“Tried to go to #Vegandale. It’s a mess. There are lines for hours just to get in. People are giving up. We’re giving up. We want a refund,” wrote one user in a post shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Vegandale was so poorly run and no one is talking about how someone FAILED in line today and we were screaming for doctors,” another said.
“Everyone had to wait in the heat for two hours and none of the vendors were allowed to sell water. It is so serious.”
“Vegandale is a total mess,” said another attendee. “$30 for parking, no organization or structure to the lines, thousands of people everywhere, all to get to a tiny entrance that is a bottleneck.”
‘I ended up leaving after two hours and nowhere near the front.’
“If you’re going to #Vegandale, don’t bother,” another person insisted. “It’s a disorganized mess.”
The festival featured musical performances by GoRilla, Polo G and Kidi, as well as over 200 vegan vendors.
The festival struggled to accommodate the huge crowds, with ticket holders angry after being forced to wait in line for hours in the heat and struggle to find shade or water.
While promotional material for the Vegandale festival showed hordes of happy customers enjoying delicious vegan bites, the reality was very different.
‘There is no staff present. Several lines of thousands of angry people waiting… you will wait for hours.’
Ticket holders who attended the same festival in Chicago in July had similar complaints, warning anyone going in the future to read reviews carefully.
“The Chicago event was a disaster. A lot of people posted about it, but I guess few people looked for reviews before buying tickets,” said one festival-goer.
“Overcrowded festival, lax security, indifferent to non-existent customer service. VIP had no security screening and was over capacity,” read another message posted on the Chicago section of the festival.
“Please investigate this (in New York City). This was an unsafe and poorly planned incident,” the user added.
And it wasn’t just attendees who were left dissatisfied, someone revealed in a Reddit thread about the matter that many vendors didn’t want to return in 2025.
“Many vegan businesses will not be returning this year because Vegandale is demanding 30 percent of their sales, as well as charging them for a booth,” one user said.
Furious festival-goers then took to social media to share their angry response to the unimpressive event.
Although many criticized the event, some posts showed positive experiences at the festival.
Although many criticized the event, some posts showed positive experiences at the festival.
“It was actually a lot of fun,” one content creator wrote, alongside a video showing the food stalls.
Vegandale’s Instagram page appears to have disabled comments on their posts.
According to the website, the festival will also be held in Philadelphia, Dallas, Miami, Los Angeles, Toronto, London and Manchester.
The first Vegandale festival was held in Toronto in 2015 with the aim of showcasing “the moral imperative of a world free of animal exploitation,” according to The website.
It has since expanded worldwide, with prices ranging from $15 for general admission to $90 for VIP access.
DailyMail.com has contacted Vegandale for comment.
(tags to translate)dailymail
