Shambala is a creative, non-commercial, ethical and family-friendly festival with a wild side and completely independent from advertising and sponsorship!
In 2016 Shambala went Meat and fish free, to continue their mission to keep Shambala at the cutting edge of sustainable event organising.
“… we’re setting ourselves a challenge: to provide the most eye-popping, mouthwatering, colourful, hearty array of cuisine at Shambala 2016 without a single bit of meat or fish on sale. Not a sausage. Instead, keep your eyes peeled for … a range of delicious food from around the world, debates, talks and creative exploration of the wonderful world of food.
Shambala HQ is a mixed bag, with vegans, veggies and meat eaters co-existing harmoniously together. However the whole team agrees that it is important to be bold with our environmental stance, and encourage this debate.”
Rebel Soul
Whilst not catering at the event, Veggies will assist again with facilities for the Rebel Soul space. There will be a programme of intellectual stimulation, music and performance that will challenge, inspire and fire you up. Whet your appetite: fresh-baked cake, pasties & samosas, teas & coffees (for donation), and fairtrade tuck shop.
Rebel Soul will be a whole area combining beautiful tents and beautiful people within to celebrate rebellion, resistance and exploring positive futures. Stimulation for your mind with workshop, displays, info and bookstall and, for your aural delectation, a fine line-up of music and poetry.
“Rebel Soul is politics thinly veiled as entertainment. In the day we host workshops and debates on hot topics run by people who know their fields inside out. We host the country’s frontline campaigners. We bring you the people who will ask the big questions, and then help you answer them. Why is Shambala vegetarian? What is sex? What is race?”
By night we celebrate with bangin’ bands and DJs from punk to soca to techno, and from all over the world. We have a store full of books and zines and a tuck shop with hot drinks and delicious vegan 🍰 cake 🎂.
All our proceeds go to support grassroots campaigns.
In 2022 Rebel Soul were supporting Migrants Organise, No More Exclusions and Police Spies Out of Lives.
2023 it was fundraising for @lgsmigrants in solidarity with all migrants & refugees; Dope Magazine: an anarchist alternative to Big Issue and Abortion Support Network: helps people who need to access safe abortions.
In 2024 £600 each went to @RedFlare, , @antiraidssheff, & Energy Embargo for Palestine, and then a little bit towards Ultimate Thunder to help them with their next album.
You’ll hear more about them during the festival and on Twitter at VeggiesNottm
#RebelSoul raised almost £2000 at Shambala Festival this year ✨
£600 each went to @RedFlare, @antiraidssheff & Energy Embargo for Palestine, and then a little bit towards Ultimate Thunder to help them with their next albumhttps://t.co/hAVXTwWAKV https://t.co/tDJJbRRnAF pic.twitter.com/zlzwgoTZ2Y
— Veggies 🌱 Vegan Campaign Catering 💙 🌱 (@veggiesnottm) November 10, 2024
Read more at rebelsoulspace.weebly.com
To get to Shambala follow this cycle route from Nottingham or via the train to Market Harborough.
Meat and fish-free Shambala has ‘Gone Off Dairy Milk Too
For 2022 Shambala say:
In 2016, we made the decision to remove meat and fish from our on-site food offering, for both the public and our festival staff.
For us, the decision was an environmental one. If we’re serious about being the most sustainable festival on the planet, we can’t ignore the undisputable evidence that a diet predominantly based on meat and fish is having a devastating effect on this little blue and green marble we call home.
AFTER YEAR ONE OF BEING A VEGGIE PARADISE, 77% OF RESPONDENTS TO OUR 2016 POST-EVENT SURVEY VOTED TO KEEP SHAMBALA MEAT AND FISH FREE. THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THAT FIGURE ROSE TO 94% – A RESULT BEYOND OUR WILDEST IMAGININGS!
Even more incredible was that 33% of you reporting reducing your meat and fish intake since the festival (that’s not counting the 30% of you that were already veggie or vegan).
Nottingham’s Rainbow Centre opened at 180 Mansfield Road on 9th September 1985, the co-operative having been established on 9th April 1984 by campaigners for peace, animal rights, human rights, civil liberties and the environment. 
