In September 2019, Sara and Liz; The Event Planners hosted the 1st Annual Gluten Free Fest!
Twenty three gluten free exhibitors, 2 guest speaking topics, one food demonstration and over 1,200 guests filled the venue. We witnessed first hand the bond that guests had with each other and observed smiles from ear to ear in an environment they knew was safe to consume products without a worry.
Since Gluten Free Fest, we have received an overwhelming response from the community to offer more. We’ve been supporting and championing gluten free living in the KW area by connecting people and businesses, hosting meet-ups, assisting with food drives and planning upcoming events.
Little did we know that Gluten Free Fest would evolve into much more than our original vision. We already knew that we had outgrown our original Gluten Free Fest venue and planning had already begun to host 2020's event in a larger space as well as adding a second date in Muskoka. But then COVID happened and our plans changed. Just like so many other businesses we had to figure out how to pivot and stay relevant in this new business landscape.
As we figured this out we started to outgrow the boundaries of ‘Fest’ (don’t worry we’re still planning events) to become inclusive and The Gluten Free Collective was born!
Our original goal of supporting local gluten free businesses and the celiac/gluten free community remains the same, however we know there’s more that can be done to advocate for our collective community!
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