What it was like
The Vegan Street Fair has been doing this long enough that calling it a vegan event undersells it entirely. It is a block party with 30-plus food vendors who understand that a crispy Korean corn dog and a loaded elote fry basket do not need an animal product to make your mouth water, plus live entertainment, sustainable brands, and a crowd that is roughly half committed vegans and half people who just want to eat extremely well outside on a Saturday evening in the San Fernando Valley. The September edition runs as a night market — starting at 3 PM and stretching into the early dark — which means the string lights come on across Chandler Boulevard, the temperature drops from blinding to bearable, and the whole thing feels more like a neighborhood block party in North Hollywood than a dietary commitment. Free to attend; you pay for what you eat, and you will eat more than you planned. Saturday, September 27, from 3 PM to 8 PM.