A few vegan waffle party guests and hosts have asked whether we’ve considered catalyzing other types of vegan food parties. This might include, for example, a Global Vegan Ice Cream Party, where guests bring a range of toppings for store-bought or homemade ice creams. Because of this, a few months back I sought input on whether you’d like to see one or more additional types of global vegan food parties, and if so, which type(s) you’d be most likely to participate in. But worry not; WaffleParty.com certainly isn’t going anywhere…

A small but enthusiastic group of individuals (16) completed all or part of the survey. Of those, 6 said you’d like to see similar vegan food events alongside the Global Vegan Waffle Party, 8 noted “maybe” or didn’t respond, and 2 replied “no.” Of the ideas listed on the survey, the most popular were  vegan pancakes, cupcakes, and ice cream. Vegan pizza parties also got a bit of attention. Other great suggestions included vegan sausage parties, vegan brownie parties, and parties related to more of an event type than a particular food type (vegan barbecue parties and vegan brunch parties).

Overall, our impression is that the volume of interest in this type of expansion (and thus necessary people-power to make it happen) is still relatively small. Because of that, and because the Global Vegan Waffle Party is still a pretty new concept that appears to have promise and additional possibilities, we believe we can have a greater positive impact by focusing primarily upon vegan waffles for now–with your help and energy, of course! We’ll see where we’re at after this coming spring’s events, and then decide what  may make sense to add next. I’ve also been hard at work on an information resource that I’m hoping many of you will find helpful–much more on that in upcoming months.

At least two of the concepts mentioned–vegan ice cream and vegan pancakes–already blend very well with the vegan waffle party concept. Perhaps next spring will see some vegan waffles ‘n’ ice cream parties, and more people without waffle irons will join in and have vegan pancake parties. It will be very exciting to see. Whatever the case, ease of guest contribution/participation will continue to be key–i.e., the option to bring something very simple for those who are less familiar with vegan food preparation.

Thanks again to those of you who provided feedback!

Global Vegan Waffle Party season isn’t over yet, and we’re still awaiting some highlights from other parties to post here. However, I didn’t want to waste momentum and interest on a related topic in the meantime.

Several people have asked about expanding the Global Vegan Waffle Party concept to a few other types of vegan food, to raise even more awareness. Thus, we seek your input.

My initial thoughts were something like this: “I really enjoy vegan waffle parties and plan to continue them. If we spread it to other kinds of food as well, then the Waffle Party might not be as ‘special’ anymore. It might somehow dilute the energy and actually result in less overall positive impact.” However, after more thinking, I realized:

• Waffles have such a unique flavor and character that they’ll always be great for parties, and will always have an audience. But some people have other favorites.
• Some great cookbooks, restaurants, and products out there could reach an even broader audience via one or two other types of parties.
• A few other vegan foods are compatible with key party features, like allowing even guests with minimal vegan food knowledge to contribute by bringing toppings.

We need your input on whether you’d like to see another type of Global Vegan Party in addition to the Waffle Party, and if so, what type of food could be a foundation for it. I’ve set up a short survey, and appreciate your taking one to two minutes to complete it by June 14. Also feel free to pass it along to others.

A few important notes:

• We’re not looking to reinvent the wheel. While I’ll provide some web presence and materials to coordinate and catalyze things a bit, I’ll also seek relevant existing resources to leverage.
• We’d like to keep this from competing in any way with some other vegetarian/vegan events that have started to go global recently. However, they seem different enough in nature so that this shouldn’t be an issue.

We’ll also be exploring potential ways to support related causes. Thanks for your input!