BE KIND to mind, body and animals, as this year’s celebration of all things vegan is innovating with a focus on yoga as well as food.

Plant food eaters from Swindon are building on the success of the first ever Swindon Vegan Festival last year, with the Swindon Vegan and Yoga Festival 2018, on Saturday October 6. The event will take place at the Victoria pub in Old Town, as it did last year, but is also expanding to Christ Church, with stalls in the church and a programme of yoga events in the community centre. The organisers are Rodbourne couple Kelly and Leigh Vowles, assisted by yoga teacher Lauren Reynolds. Running from 12 noon till 5pm, the festival is a celebration of the plant food diet, with stalls, speakers, music and yoga sessions. And you don’t have to be a vegan or vegetarian to join in and find out more – it’s open to everyone.

“We had well over 700 people through the door last year,” Leigh said. “This year’s event is going to be much bigger. We had ten stalls last year, and there will be around 35 this time.”

The 2018 festival will host half a dozen hot food stalls, serving a range of foods including Seitan's Grill, and Indian and Ethiopian vegan cuisine. The Naturally Vegan Food Company will be selling vegan cheese.

Lauren said: “I was keen to get involved this year. For me, being a vegan and doing yoga go hand in hand. It connects with the philosophy of doing no harm. They seem to work very well together. I’ve been a vegan for eight years, and a vegetarian since I was about 14.”

She said being a vegan had never proved difficult for her, though over the last two years all sorts of new products had come on to the market.

“I thought I would give it a try for a month – but it was much easier than I thought it would be, and it’s easier now than it has ever been.”

Police officer Leigh is one year in to the diet. He decided to make the change just six weeks ago after watching a film at a vegan festival about the life of pigs raised in industrial farming. Seeing the reality of meat production changed his life.

“I found giving up cheese the hardest,” he said. “But I’ve lost a stone in weight, I’ve got more energy and I feel less lethargic.”

He and Kelly believe the diet has boosted their health and fitness – both are keen members of Battlegound gym – and Kelly reckons the diet has helped her manage endometriosis and fibroids. The couple were inspired by speakers at the UK Vegan Camp Out, in Nottinghamshire when they decided to organise last year’s festival.

When he turned to the vegan diet a year ago, Leigh said he had expected some ribbing from colleagues – but the opposite has happened.

“A couple of people on the team have now gone vegan too, for health reasons, after watching a documentary.”

The vegan and yoga festival will feature stalls selling not only vegan food, but also clothing, jewellery and skincare products, as well as information from charities. Look out for a Reiki practitioner, Indian head massage – and even Tarot readings.

The yoga sessions will run from 12 noon till 6pm, and eight yoga teachers will run 30-minute sessions. Participants do not need to have done yoga before to join in. The sessions will be first come, first served, with donations rather than a fee.

Entertainments at the Vic in Victoria Road will include DJ Stu Browning and singer-songwriter Charlie Bath. According to the Vegan Society research, there are 542,000 vegans in Great Britain now, which is three and a half times as many as ten years ago. Supermarkets have been recognising the growing demand and last year Asda become the first supermarket to carry the Vegan Society trademark on its products.

Admission to the festival is £2 for adults, under 16s free. Money raised will be donated to the Oak and Furrows wildlife rescue centre. If you would like to help, and for more information, visit the Facebook page, Swindon Vegan & Yoga Festival 2018.