Billy Penn11%
A ginormous gluten-free expo is headed to the Philly suburbs this weekend 65%
By Julia Binswanger11%
7/16/2026, 3:37:10 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 28 faulty reasoning types, including Halo Effect, Optimism Bias, and Hasty Generalization, with Attempt to Sell a Product or Service as the most egregious example at 51.6% saturation with 460 hits. Analysis detected 1,840 faulty-reasoning hits from 891 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 59.8% and a BS Rank of 65% (5,851 of 16,721 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 65.00% of the article peer group.
No gluten?
No problem!
This Saturday, over 100 vendors, purveyors, restaurants and bakeries are headed to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pa. with celiac-safe bites for the whole family.
The event, called the Wicked Gluten-Free Expo and Food Festival, will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Abby Helman Kelly, is the founder and owner of Wicked Gluten Free.
She got her start in New England — hence the name — and began putting on celiac allergy-friendly expos in 2016.
“Philadelphia is a gluten-free hotspot,” Kelly said.
“There are so many vendors and artisans and brands and businesses, and the community is really vibrant.
At an expo, we always have 100 plus vendors, and it’s sort of an everything expo.”
Curious diners do not have to compromise with “just the salad,” but rather can put on their foodie hats and explore different food options without worrying about feeling sick afterwards.
Gluten-free rarities like fried chicken, pizza, chocolate eclairs and pierogi will be available.
There will also be gluten-free flour and baking mixes to bring home.
“We even have some attendees who will roll a cooler through the place, filling it up,” Kelly said.
In addition to gluten-sensitivities, the expo will also have many nut-free and vegan options.
Chefs will be doing baking demonstrations on different ways to make gluten-free bread.
Guests can ask vendors questions about tips, brands and recipes.
The event is not just a food festival, but also a learning event with nonprofits and community resources like Beyond Celiac and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Celiac Center.
Kelly encourages attendees to bring the whole family, including young ones with food sensitivities.
“We’ve got a kids area where the kids can play coloring and a really fun photo area,” she said.
“We have a good time, and it’s a big, busy event.”
“Sometimes there are lines at the favorite brands,” she noted, “but it’s really worth it because it’s a really special day.”
There will be both national and local brands at the expo.
Big names like Jovial Foods and favorites like Make It GF will be in attendance, as well as Pa. standouts like Skip’s Chicken, The Greater Knead and The Happy Mixer Gluten Free Bakery.
A&A Soft Pretzel, which has been operating since 1929, will also be making an appearance.
The business, which sells at Philly stadiums, has been making gluten-free pretzels since 2020 in reaction to the pandemic.
“Our main business was regular pretzels — was the school cafeterias and PTAs, different functions like that, and we lost all of our business.
We lost 90% of business,” said A&A’s owner Anthony Panara.
His wife suggested the pivot, after noting there was a demand for gluten-free products.
Creating the pretzels took a lot of trial and error.
Panara would research recipes, get advice from friends and look through gluten-free cook books.
He even set out to make his own gluten-free flour-blend.
After eight months of experimentation and breaking a few machines trying to mill rice, Panara had his recipe.
The final product, he said, doesn’t contain any dairy, soy, preservatives or wheat.
What’s more, the idea has been so successful, the team opened a gluten-free store front in Oaklyn.
“Everything at our Oaklyn location is just strictly made and baked, gluten free,” Panara said.
“We get a bunch of stories that people are like, ‘Oh, this is the one thing I’ve missed.’
You know, 30 years celiac or five years or even just recently diagnosed, It gives them nice peace of mind that they can still come and enjoy something.”
LesbiVeggies, known for its vegan and gluten-free food, is another local business that will be featured at the expo.
“I don’t really know what to expect,” said Brennah Lambert, LesbiVeggies’ owner and chef, who is going for the first time.
“I think it’s going to open up my eyes in a lot of ways.”
Lambert said that she works to champion inclusivity, especially as a queer and female led-business.
“I feel like more and more people are struggling to eat out or kind of just feel comfortable with other people making them food in a certain setting,” she said.
“Just the health purposes of the event is really awesome.”
Lambert said she’s excited to cater to people with dietary restrictions, who are usually given a menu full of items that could make them ill.
Bread , after all, is usually the first thing that hits the table when you go out.
“We’re gonna do our pancakes,” she said.
“We have a lemon poppy seed pancake that’s really popular, so we’re gonna do those.
I’m gonna be cooking them live at the expo, which is gonna be fun as well.
And then I’m gonna bring our Calabrian cornbread paired with our oyster mushroom, so just something a little bit different — really tasty.”
“A day where you can just relax and eat?
Well, that’s really valuable” Kelly said.
“That’s really fun.
That’s really a relief.
I call it the best gluten-free day ever because come on in and eat it all.
Buy it all.
It’s like a vacation.
You know, we’ve taken care of all the thinking for you.
Come on in and enjoy, and take a bunch of fun food home with you!”
Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.