Shweta Thakur, curater of the Vegan Fest, Widerfest, VR Bengaluru speaks about Widerfest.

WILDERFEST- The Vegan Fest being hosted by VR Bengaluru on the 18th and 19th May as part of their third-anniversary celebrations. Wilderfest propagates the idea of a cruelty-free lifestyle. The 2-day fest included the below: Talks by renowned speakers such as Mariam Begg, Pavan Melukotte, Joanna Rodrigues, Nidhi Nahata and Roshni Sanghvi, who discussed on health, environment, and ethics to understand veganism better. Live Food Counters by vegan enthusiasts to exhibit the many food options that vegans can enjoy. Workshops that taught one to veganism a non-vegan product through simple methods at home. Vegan Flea Fest which showcased the latest in ethical fashion and home décor accessories as a part of the vegan flea market. We had a conversation with Shweta Thakur, curator of Wilderfest to know more: BV:  What inspired you to start Wilderfest? And when did you start with? Shweta Thakur: Wilderfest started exactly a year back. We realized that while Bangalore was a major hub for vegans with local businesses and a thriving community, there was little being done to bring them together. Hence, we worked on that opportunity to create an event of scale. Since then, we have partnered with other events, explored a few more formats and had a full-fledged event in Delhi Select City Saket mall as well.   BV: Did you do any business planning for this fest? How did you go about with it? Would you like to describe in detail to our readers? Shweta Thakur: Of course there is a lot of business planning to be done for an event like this. The cost of production is significant and to bring together all experiences smoothly, it is important to have everything planned to the T. We had the standard heads in which every event has to be planned - curation, marketing, production.   BV:  What are the challenges you faced while coming up with the idea and setting up? And how did you overcome them? Shweta Thakur: Time is always a challenge for us. Much as we would like, we are unable to start out the event planning as early as we can. This results in doing a bunch of things last minute. We are going to be changing that in the coming editions such that all our teams have enough time to bring together a really strong event.   BV:  Do you personally believe in Cruelty-free lifestyle? How do you follow or incorporate in your personal life? Shweta Thakur: Ofcourse. I have been a vegan 2.5 years now. It is very easy to incorporate it in my daily life. My breakfast is the usual south Indian fare of dosa. My lunch is usually home cooked and simple rice, dal kind of thing. My dinners are usually light like a salad. When I go out, I ensure that I let the restaurant know I am vegan and ask them to veganise the dishes. I do not purchase silk, wool or leather. I use natural skin and hair care products. I live a very conscious lifestyle and most importantly, I consume less. I am trying to practice minimalism as much as I can.   BV:  How many stalls did you have at your event? And how did you approach them regarding your idea? Shweta Thakur: We had 37 stalls this year. Considering the event's success last year, we had a lot of them coming to join hands this time. As a festival, we are working towards creating an ecosystem for vegan businesses on the demand and supply side. And that is our pitch and action plan for this year. That is the only way we see veganism going mainstream. BV:  Did you receive any sponsorships? How and who did help you to run this show? Shweta Thakur: This edition, we had most sponsorships in kind. We got Radio One as a radio partner - which is a big achievement for any vegan event. We also got on board Zomato - who is happy to recognize the increasing vegan trend. We had Borges and Raw partner with us with their mylks. We had a community partner with Vegan First. We look forward to raising a lot of cash sponsorships to help us fund the festivals in the future. The festival is organized by the parent company of Wilderfest - Graffiti Collaborative. It is a creative agency and has experience in creating and producing events.   BV:  How did you manage to find all the brands following veganism to participate? Did you follow any standard process? Shweta Thakur: It is a matter of building relationships with them and helping them see the value. Once that happens, it is pretty straightforward. We have a curation team in place which reaches out to them.   BV:  A message that you would like to give it to the readers. Shweta Thakur: There is a lot to learn about the way we consume today. Veganism is just one aspect of it. But given the number of times we consume food, it has the biggest impact. It is time all of us became conscious and aware of our own footprint. It is time we began questioning the things which have been handed over to us as part of the conditioning. For more such updates, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Download our magazine Spunky Indian for exclusive stories.