Whirlwind WorldFest Weekend

Who: VN Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig and former VN Editorial Assistant Charlotte Gordon
What: The WorldFest 2010 Earth Day Festival
Where: Woodley Park, Lake Balboa, Calif.
When: May 16, 2010
Why: To have fun, gorge on good food, and rock out to good tunes while representing the best magazine ever!

The Scoop: If you were in Southern California this past weekend, hopefully you didn't miss out on WorldFest—LA's largest Earth Day festival, filled with amazing food, great music, and tons of cute animals (even ponies)! This was my second time at this wonderful event, though my first as a VN representative, and it was very heartwarming to see the enthusiasm shown by so many for VegNews. The super-positive vibe at the event was totally contagious!

Livin' it up behind the VegNews booth

So much happiness makes a person hungry, and so the eating began first thing in the AM and did not cease until we packed up and left. Breakfast consisted of MaggieMudd ice cream. Yes, I know I live in San Francisco where MaggieMudd is based, but to be honest, I don't frequent this fabulous ice cream shop for personal reasons. Let's just say I have the inability to show self-control when a huge ice cream sundae is staring me in the face, so I hold out on MaggieMudd for special occasions, and this event was one of those.

Mmmm, MaggieMudd

With our sweet tooths satisfied, Charlotte and I moved onto savory, and found quite the gem. We both discovered the delicacy that is Jackfruit last year at the AR 2009 Conference where Samosa House catered a wonderful Jackfruit entrée that totally blew us away. But I digress. We were tipped off about a delicious vendor called Bodhi Tree Vegetarian Café that was selling Jackfruit salads and coconuts filled with refreshing coconut water. We were sold! Take my advice, if you haven't tried Jackfruit, go find some now.

Jackfruit salad delicious coconut water

It was turning into a gorgeous day, music started to play, and the people started to pour in, and boy were they excited to be there. So much excitement can really bring on a sweet tooth—again! Luckily, we were approached by Jon Hull of Luscious Organic Desserts who generously shared some sweet treats with us. Four words: cookie dough bon bons. They were cookie dough balls covered in chocolate—both dark and white. We almost died. Plus, they gave us Peanut Butter Crunch Bars (very similar to Whatchamacallits), and two cupcakes. Yes, we were very spoiled—not to mention stuffed.

The amazing cupcakes of Luscious Organic Desserts

Good conversation, yummy eats, catchy tunes, and cute animal sightings made for one wonderful day at WorldFest, which made me sad that I missed last year's event. If you missed it this year, be sure to mark your calendars for next year! It's sure to put a smile on your face.

Magical Madeleine Bistro

Who: VN Senior Editor Elizabeth Castoria + Editorial Assistant Lisa Mickleborough
What: Pre-flight dinner
Where: Madeleine Bistro, Tarzana, Calif.
When: May 10, 2008
Why: How could we be in LA and not go?

The Scoop: As you've already read, Lisa and I enjoyed quite the event at WorldFest. After a day full of talking with people, checking out other exhibitors, and, of course, playing with puppies, we were famished. Was it fate that WorldFest was held in Encino—mere minutes away from Madeleine Bistro? Whether our dinner there was pre-destined or not, we knew there was nowhere else we'd rather go.

Since we had to keep an eye on the clock—missing our late-night flight back to SF was not an option—we decided we'd order just one entrée each and forgo all the incredibly tempting appetizers, first courses, and desserts. When we walked in and met Molly Anderson—who owns the restaurant with her husband and executive chef, David (whom you may remember from a little something called the 2007 Veggie Awards)—our plans took a turn for the delicious. Molly graciously did a bit of extra ordering for us. The first thing to arrive at the table? Doughnuts!

With such an auspicious beginning, it was hard to imagine what would come next. To our utter delight, plates arrived bearing the creamiest mac 'n' cheese either of us had ever tasted. Next? Very yummy mushroom potstickers, and Madeleine Bistro's signature appetizer, the beet tartare, which comes served on a disc of homemade vegan cheese (see above!). Are you sitting down, already? Because there's more: While we were still revelling in the appetizers, Molly came to the table with a burger and said, "You have to try the Bigger Maque." It was, literally, a vegan Big Mac. We died. Then, the entrées arrived. We died again, but rallied enough to thoroughly enjoy chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and rich, delicious gravy, and tofu scallops atop a bed of green beans and shiitake mushrooms. So that was it, right? Well, no, actually. But what kind of dessert could follow a meal like that? Oh, I think the chocolate soufflé that came next did a fine job. No joke: vegan chocolate soufflé. It was like eating a little cloud of heavenly chocolate cake batter. See its majesty below, in a photo that in no way does it justice. And, as though we hadn't been spoiled enough, there was also cannoli. You read that right. Cannoli.

It was absolutely worth it to run from the security checkpoint all the way to the farthest possible gate at LAX to have the opportunity to spend time with Molly and enjoy what was, without exaggeration, the best meal either of us had ever ever eaten.

WorldFest 2008 (aka "Vegan Food & Puppies")

Who: VN Senior Editor Elizabeth Castoria + VN Editorial Assistant Lisa Mickleborough
What: The WorldFest 2008 Earth Day Festival
Where: Encino, Calif.
When: May 10, 2008
Why: To represent the magazine and support the vegan community

The Scoop: Having encountered delayed flights, extremely tardy rental-car shuttles, closed restaurants, and less-than-scrupulous driving directions—only to arrive at our hotel to discover that the hot tub had closed for the evening—well, let’s just say that we were happy to hit our Sleep Number beds and begin a new day.

With the aid of a good night's sleep, hot showers, and a sparkly blue PT Cruiser, we made our way to LA’s largest Earth Day Festival to staff the VN booth and check out the cool roster of speakers and exhibitors. We were particularly interested in what was going on at the Field Roast booth, (um, hello apple-sage sausages!), but equally drawn to the non-food-centric Angels in Fur Dog Rescue booth, one of several non-profit dog-adoption groups present.

Event organizers Jill Hahn and Billy Hulting made us feel right at home, greeting us with warm smiles and much-appreciated VIP passes. Having plenty of trade- and consumer-show experiences under our collective belt, we knew to expect inquisitive, hungry crowds, but we were both surprised and downright moved to discover a solar-powered, completely vegan celebration of the earth and its inhabitants. Watching the diverse, upbeat crowds filing in under the bright SoCal sun and perusing the aisles of planet-friendly booths, it became clear that this event was about more than just subscriptions-hustling or networking. This was a chance to witness all kinds of compassionate folk coming together to honor and learn about the importance of empathy, non-violence, and responsible living, as well as the interdependence of the environmental-, human-, and animal-rights movements.

Okay, that's enough. I promised myself I wouldn't cry.