Vegetarianism doesn't have to be boring - and the Vegetarian Society is aiming to prove this with a spectacular event later this month.

It’s National Vegetarian Week from May 23 and to help celebrate, the Vegetarian Society is hosting an event called Meat Free in Manchester.

It’s free to the the public and will take place from 11am to 4pm on Saturday May 21 in Albert Square, right in front of Manchester’s impressively imposing neo-gothic Town Hall.

It promises to be a fun day for all the family with live entertainment, games, kids activities, cookery demos, and food stalls selling tempting snacks and meals.

The cookery demonstrations will be held by chefs from the Cordon Vert Cookery School, Zilli Green, Prashad and Earth Cafe.

If you fancy a smoothie you can make your own, using energy saving pedal-power!

There’ll even be a chance for you to brush up on the history of vegetarianism. If you thought vegetarianism was a new movement - a product of 60’s radicalism, say - you might be surprised to learn that Manchester, and its neighbouring city of Salford, were at the forefront of the vegetarian movement as far back as 1807.

Here at BigGreenSmile I can’t guarantee that we are all vegetarians, but I can guarantee that all our products are free from animal testing.

Many carry the Go Cruelty Free symbol - a campaign run by a coalition of animal protection groups from across Europe and North America including the BUAV (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection).

[Image: Simon Hickson]