My 1st Plant-Based Event
Last month, I started a local extension of Mischievous Monsters called Cedar Valley Plant-Based Community. It is an opportunity for plant-forward individuals to hang out in person, whether they are vegan, vegetarian, plant-based, or otherwise. This group is based in Waterloo, Cedar Falls, and the surrounding Northeast Iowa communities.
The idea of our first event on April 11, 2026, was to eat at the local vegan bakery, Moo's Bakery, and then explore RodCon as a group.
Moo's Bakery
As always, Moo's Bakery had amazing food. I had avocado toast with cucumber, tomato, red pepper flakes, and balsamic glaze. It was delicious. I also had one of their famous plain cinnamon rolls, and it was gooey and scrumptious.
For a little while, I wasn't sure anyone was coming because I mostly saw a family and some college students who went out to eat for lunch. Right after the owner asked me where everyone was, I went from being at a table by myself to a combined table of five.
I was really happy about the turnout. Actually, with groups like this, it's common for no one to show up at the first event, but having four people come was awesome. Out of the five of us, three were vegan, one was vegetarian, and one was plant-based.
A couple left for RodCon, while three of us stayed for a decent amount longer and chatted. It's nice to hear other people's life stories and learn from their experiences. They were really nice, and I hope they come to more events in the future.
RodCon
Last year, I didn't go to RodCon because of not having anyone to go with. That was a waste of a year, but my birthday resolution last summer was to stop using that as my excuse.
I'm not married, and I don't have any kids. All of my siblings live out of town, and my parents are somewhat busy. I also don't have many friends, and the few I do have can't afford the activities I like, like taking art classes, watching local theatre, going to vegan-friendly restaurants, and so forth.
This year, I actually went to RodCon by myself and enjoyed it. One of my former high school classmates was selling his comic books right by the door, and we had a good chat. I also ran into some people I know.
I did stock up on some cat merch and bought my mom a gnome mug for Mother's Day. The only disappointing part was my timing at the free board game section hosted by Friendly Meeple. There wasn't a game that I could join, and I had no one to play with for a new game.
The bright side was that I had plenty of time to finalize the contract and pay for the venue for our first annual Cedar Valley Plant-Based Holiday Market.
Next Steps
As it was my first event, it was far from perfect.
- One tip was to share a picture of myself in the group, so they knew who they were looking for, especially if they were new to our meetups.
- Another idea was to be more assertive about whether customers were attending our meetup. Two of them were sitting at the table behind me for a while before someone else asked about it. Late is better than not at all.
I also got some nice advice on spreading the word about the group.
- Put some posters up in the local libraries and the university student center.
- Have posters in vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants and businesses if that is an option.
- They are excited about our upcoming merch sale, May 1-14.
Finally, I heard of new event ideas that would be great to incorporate.
- Having a vegan-friendly movie night.
- The nearby Vegan Community of Eastern Iowa has a monthly potluck in the local community center. It has a free-will offering to pay for the facilities fee.
In short, the event went well, and this should be the first of many fun, plant-based events.
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Megan McFadden
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