August 11, 2019 • Nationals Park • Washington, DC
We’re looking forward to a great outdoor festival with more than 120 exhibitors and 20,000+ attendees! Please review the guidelines below for instructions on how to get to the event, set up and breakdown, and what to expect during the event.
Reminder: DC VegFest is an all-vegan event
All food products sold or offered must be vegan (100% plant-based, no animal ingredients of any kind). Non-food items should not be tested on animals, and should be free of animal derivatives such as leather, fur, silk, lanolin, gelatin, etc. Books, literature, product displays, and other promotions may not promote the use of any animal-derived food or product. Any vendor found to be in violation will be asked to vacate the premises without refund.
This event is rain or shine. Please note that this year we will be at Nats Park, and vendors (except for food trucks) will be under a covered concourse. In the event of inclement weather, the DC VegFest will continue as planned unless weather threatens the safety of attendees and exhibitors and/or in the case of a State of Emergency proclaimed by the DC Mayor. If there are weather-related concerns, we’ll update this page, so please check back.
If you’ve registered for the DC VegFest, but have not yet paid or have outstanding documents (or if you’re not sure), please email us at info@dcvegfest.com immediately. If you fail to submit required documents and/or have not yet paid in full by July 26th your space may be forfeited and sold to another vendor without refund.
All vendors are required to have a certificate of insurance. Policies shall be endorsed to name Compassion Over Killing, Inc., as additional insureds on your Certificate of Insurance.
DC VegFest is being held at Nationals Park located at 1500 South Capitol St SE Washington, DC 20003.
Looking for directions and public transit information? Check out our Find Us page.
AMENITIES: Nats Park offers free wifi, drinking fountains, restrooms and ATMs for your convenience.
All exhibitors will have their items inspected by Nats Park security at the loading docks.
Please note the following items are NOT allowed at Nats Park:
- backpacks (other bags are allowed, see Nats Bag Policy)
- box cutters (scissors are ok)
- weapons
- masks/costumes
- open flames
- cigarettes or cigars, (Nats Park is a tobacco free facility)
- helium balloons
- knives are also prohibited except if you’re a food vendor and necessarily need knives for food preparation.
RESTRICTION ON BOTTLED DRINKS – Nats Park Policy: If selling water or soft drinks, only Dasani brand may be sold. Exhibitors are allowed to sell fresh juices, smoothies or kombuchas.
ALL EXHIBITORS utilizing propane and/or butane MUST have a propane permit issued by the DC Fire Department.
Click here to review and apply for a Fire Prevention Code Permit. Permits will be held by the DC Fire inspector until you successfully pass an inspection of your set up on the morning of the event. At that point you will receive your permit to vend.
Before the event, you will receive an email with the exact location for entry at the event.
• 6:30 a.m. Staggered vendor/booth setup begins. Vendors will be assigned a time slot and specific unloading area based on where booths are located.
• 9:30 – Exhibitors arriving after 9:30 a.m. will have their space forfeited.
• 10:00 a.m. – Streets around the ballpark will close to vehicular traffic at 10AM, at which point no vendors will be able to access the main load-in areas.
• 10:45 a.m. Exhibitors should be ready for visitors.
• 11:00 a.m. Event officially opens to the public.
• 5:30 p.m. Breakdown begins
• 7:30 p.m. Exhibitors must be off premises, exhibitors not vacated after 7:30 p.m. will be charged a late fee.
DC VegFest aims to minimize the impact of the festival on our environment. Please put food waste, non-food waste, recyclable, and compostable materials in the appropriate bins. At the end of the day, please break down any cardboard boxes and place next to the recycling bins for pick up. Vendor booths must be free of trash and debris at the end of the event. Exhibitors who leave trash behind at their booth at the end of the event will be charged a $50 cleaning fee and may be refused approval for future events.
View or download the Exhibitor Map. Each exhibitor is assigned a specific booth number and location.
Reminder: Each booth space includes one 6-foot table, and one chair. If you’ve ordered additional tables, they will be included in your space when you arrive.
TENTS: Most booth spaces are located in a covered area, unless we’ve notified you otherwise. Tents are not provided. If you choose to bring your own tent, it must fit within the 10×10 space provided and it must be weighted down on each side by 5lb weights or you will be required to take it down.
NOTE: Volunteers will be on hand to help you find your booth on the morning of the event. Each bank of tents will have a volunteer assigned to further guide you. You cannot move your booth to a different location or use more space than the allotted 10×10 ft. booth.
EXTENSION CORDS: If you are planning to use electricity, you will need to bring your own extension cords if needed. UPDATE: Power strips ARE allowed
SET UP & SIGNS: Your booth may be identified with a tablecloth, a pop up backdrop, a table banner or a sign. However, signs MAY NOT cover any Nats Park signage. Only painter’s tape may be used to secure banners or signs.
The DC VegFest has its own currency! Some members of the public, media, speakers, and contractors will receive one-dollar food vouchers called DC VegFest Bucks:
DC VegFest Bucks are only redeemable at the designated “restaurant vendors” – please check the exhibitor list if you are uncertain if you fall into this category as some packaged food vendors should not accept these bucks. Please treat DC VegFest bucks just as you would treat any legal tender, each with the value of $1. At any time during the day, you may bring the VegFest bucks you have received to the Info Booth to exchange for cash. This exchange must take place on the day of the event, during event hours. Cash exchanges will not be made after 6:30 p.m. on 8/11/19. Please note that the bucks will not be exchanged for dollar bills as the DC VegFest will not have small bills on-hand – this should not be used as a method for vendors to access additional change for their booths. DC VegFest Bucks are dated for 2019 – do not accept outdated bucks as these will not be exchanged for cash.
All exhibitors selling merchandise/food (including nonprofits and regardless of where your business license is issued) must collect sales and use tax in accordance with DC law. Payment must be sent directly to the DC Office of Tax and Revenue. DC’s FR-800SE includes a return form, filing instructions, and current sales tax rates. Please note that it is each vendor’s responsibility to be compliant with DC law.
Tote bag inserts must be received by August 1, 2019 to be included in the bags. Items received after this are not guaranteed placement.
Carrot Top Sponsors, Celery Root Sponsors, and Exhibitors who selected the “Commemorative Tote Bag Insert” option may provide a single item to be included in the 1,000 commemorative tote bags handed out at the beginning of the DC VegFest.
Please ship 1,000 inserts (e.g. vegan food samples, vegan products, and coupons – only one item per bag) to:
Compassion Over Killing
ATTN: DC VegFest
6930 Carroll Ave #910
Takoma Park, MD 20912
Logos must be received by July 16, 2019 to guarantee placement.
Carrot Top Sponsors may provide a logo to be printed on the 2019 DC VegFest Commemorative Tote Bags and DC VegFest main stage banner. Artwork must be a color high resolution (300 dpi) file – EPS, TIFF, JPEG, or PDF format.
Upload Your Logo Using Our Portal
Returning sponsors: email us at info@DCVegFest.com to reuse last year’s artwork
Ads must be received by Tuesday, July 16, 2019 to guarantee placement. Late submissions are not guaranteed placement. Carrot Top and Celery Root Sponsorships include ad placement in the 2019 DC VegFest program which is distributed at the event. Ads are full-color, in an outlined vector EPS file. Hi-resolution PDFs or TIFFs at 300 dpi are preferred, though JPGs will also be accepted. If supplying a PDF, please embed or outline the fonts when outputting.
Ad sizes:
• Full Page Ad (Carrot Top Sponsors): 4.5”w x 7.5”h
• Half Page Ad (Celery Root Sponsors): 4.5”w x 3.5”h
• Quarter Page Ad (Kids Zone Sponsors): 2”w x 3.5”h
Upload Your Ad Using Our Portal
Returning sponsors: email us at info@DCVegFest.com to reuse last year’s artwork
Email us at info@DCVegFest.com or call Compassion Over Killing at 301-891-2458 through 1 p.m. on Friday, August 9th – this phone will not be answered on August 10th or 11th. The DC VegFest Info Booth can address any questions or concerns at the event.
We’re looking forward to seeing you on Sunday, August 11th — thank you for helping make the 2019 DC VegFest a success!
days until registration closes!