Portland VegFest 2011

Who: VN Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig

What: Portland VegFest 2011

Where: Portland, OR

When: September 17 + 18, 2011

Why: To hang out with some cool vegans in the city known as vegan mecca.

The Scoop: I love Portland. I have visited the city a few times—most recently for the first-ever Vida Vegan Con—and every single time I enjoy myself immensely. What can I say, Portland relaxes me—the food is great, the people are nice, and maybe I just have a thing for rainy, cloudy skies.

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to visit this fabulous city in the Northwest in order to table at the Portland VegFest, which took place at the  Oregon Convention Center, and was attended by 6,700 people. It's definitely one of the bigger festivals in the US, and there was a ton of free (and delicious) vegan food, as well as awesome speakers, including Wayne Pacelle of HSUS, Grant Butler of The Oregonian, and Dr. Neal Barnard of PCRM.

 The crowded convention center.

I had the pleasure to work at the VegNews booth along with past VegNews employee Katie Paul, her husband, Dan Paul, who was also representing HSUS, and VegNews Street Teamer Bronwyn Ewers, who lives in nearby Tigard, OR. We were neighbors with Chicago Soydairy and ecoVegan, both of which have been featured in VegNews and have wonderful products—they were inundated with hungry attendees for the entirety of the show.

Bronwyn, myself, and Katie working the booth.

Though the booth was busy, I was able to break for quick snacks. On Saturday, I bought a plate of delicious Ethiopian food from Sengatera Ethiopian Restaurant, and then on Sunday I picked up some Yellow Tofu Curry and a few Spring Rolls from VegeThai. Both meals were tasty and satisfying, and helped to get me through the rest of the busy day.

My bountiful plate of Ethiopian food. So good!

This was my first time attending the Portland VegFest, and I hope it's not my last. It was truly a fun and successful event, in one of the best US cities. I'll stop gushing now.

Fancy Awards Weekend

Who: VN Senior Editor Elizabeth Castoria
What: The Genesis Awards and day-after brunch
When: March 27–28, 2009
Where: Beverly Hills, Calif.
Why: Um, fancy parties celebrating animals are pretty stinkin' fun!

The Scoop: In years past, the VN crew has had a ball at the Genesis Awards. This year, it seemed like said good times might not roll at all, since the majority of the staff had scheduling conflicts. Thankfully, at the last minute, it all fell into place, and I headed south.

The thing about the Genesis Awards is that you know celebrities—and celebs who care about animals, no less—will be there. It's amazing to be in a room full of people who are being recognized for bringing animal issues to the forefront of public view through their television shows, documentaries, feature films, news reporting, etc., and to know that for every nominee, untold numbers of people were made aware about animals and the often horrific lives they endure for our amusement, food, and clothing. So, amongst the stars that made me starry-eyed were Emily Deschanel, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Joe Mantegna (who did a Fat Tony bit while presenting an award!), Jorja Fox, Marg Helgenberger, Ginnifer Goodwin, Carol Leifer, and my new husband, Nigel Barker. OK, fine. No, he's not really my new husband, but Mr. Barker, shortly before beginning casting for the next cycle of America's Next Top Model, has been working overtime to stop the Canadian Seal Hunt. What can I say? Saving seals makes me swoony. This year's entire awards ceremony was dedicated to that very cause.

So, after mingling a bit at the VIP reception, we sat down for dinner and the awards presentation. My tablemates included Rey Ortega, Jill Hahn, Billy Hulting, Jonny, Kristine, and Milan Vasic, Dave Rutan, Lisa MacMillan, and Ramy Hassan.

The dinner was, of course, absolutely delish. What else would you expect from Tal Ronnen? Baby bok choy, vegan chicken scallopini, and black-rice risotto kept all the guests sated during the awards. Considering the graphic nature of many of the clips from nominated works that were shown, it was especially comforting to have a completely vegan meal, knowing that even attendees who aren't vegan didn't contribute to animal suffering that night! The presenters were lively (it seemed like maybe a whopping five percent of them actually read from the teleprompter, while the rest went a little improv-crazy). Beginning with Jarrod Cooper and continuing through the evening, Michael Vick's surname was modified at liberty, most often by replacing the "v" with a "d." One of the more memorable off-script speeches came from Ellen DeGeneres. While accepting the Wyler award which she co-won with her wife, Portia de Rossi, Ellen said that she was cautious of attaching too many labels to herself, since as a public person she doesn't want to be misunderstood. "But," she said, "I've been openly gay for a while now, and that's going pretty well. So, I'm openly vegan!" The crowd did indeed go wild.

After all the awards, we moved to the silent auction and after-party. Um, let's just say that partying in a room filled with some of the most amazing animal activists on the planet is pretty freaking awesome. From HSUS, Wayne Pacelle, Paul Shapiro, Mike Markarian, and Dan Paul, just to name a few, kept things lively. VN columnist and professional cutie-boots Rory Freedman, Matt & Nat founder Inder Bedi, artist Gretchen Ryan and her husband Peter, and all-star activists Ari Solomon, Mikko Alanne, Kath Rogers, and Bryan Pease made the evening utterly fun.

Rey Ortega, me, and Moira, photo by Susan Weingartner

The next morning, in the sunny, seaside beach chalet of Moira Nordholt and Ron Proulx, a festive group gathered for the traditional post-Genesis brunch. Co-hosted by Moira, Ron, and Susan Weingartner, this was exactly what you think of when you think of brunch. Amazing food, outrageously fun people, and a love for animals all around. Could the weekend have been more fun? No. Can I hardly wait for next year? No.

Prop. 2 Party Play-by-Play

Who: VN Senior Editor Elizabeth Castoria, Peter Ryan, and some of the finest animal advocates on the planet
What: Yes on Prop. 2 Election Night Party
Where: The San Francisco SPCA, San Francisco, Calif.
When: November 4, 2008
Why: To watch and freak out as Prop. 2 passed!

The Scoop: Remember way back in April when a few VN staffers headed out to celebrate the seemingly impossible accomplishment of drumming up enough signatures to get Prop. 2 onto the California ballot? Well, maybe a ton has happened between then and now. Maybe a veritable army of volunteers has leafletted, canvassed, and in all other ways promoted the hell out of Prop. 2 all over the state, and maybe it was officially time to see their efforts pay off. After an excrutiatingly long day of refreshing the online swing-state maps and twitching in anticipation, I headed down to the SPCA, ready to hear some good news.

The scene was quietly energetic when Peter and I first arrived, as most people were glued to the television watching reports of the presidential election results come in. As at any good party, there were tables of food, specifically vegan Mexican food from Flacos and a selection of chocolate-mint mini cupcakes and butterscotch brownies from Sugar Beat Sweets. First things came first: finding and hugging Erin Williams of The Humane Society of the United States, who has worked tirelessly on this campaign. I found her, Karin Olsson, and Andrew Page—also of HSUS—glued to a smaller screen, that of a computer that would soon tell us Prop. 2's results.
What's the hardest part of being so close to victory? The waiting, believe it or not. While some people have been "cautiously optimistic" about the potential of Prop. 2 to pass, a certain senior editor has been convinced wholeheartedly that the passing was imminent from day one, which made the wait even more intolerable. Thankfully, someone thoughtful organized a little distraction called the presidential election. As news that Obama had officially won came in, a massive sigh of excitement and relief went up. Listening to his moving acceptance speech was probably the only possible thing that could have prepared us for the excitement that was about to be announced. Appropriately, the well-oiled, history-making machine that was the Prop. 2 campaign has been compared to the obviously successful, and well-organized Obama campaign.

When the time finally came to make the big announcement, Erin asked us all to keep it down just a bit—we didn't want shrieks of joy from animal advocates disturbing the animals at the shelter! Barely able to contain ourselves, we listened as she told us that, yes, Prop. 2 passed. We died. Some of us may have literally cried—a lot. The excitement, relief, gratitude, and exhilaration of victory was palpable in the room, as people hugged, clapped, and hugged again. Erin gave a brief, lovely speech and thanked everyone profusely, as did Karin and Nora Kramer. By the time the evening came to its close, the world had changed for the better.

An extremely happy Erin Williams and Elizabeth Castoria

AR/DC

Who: VN Editorial Director Aurelia d'Andrea, VN Publisher Joseph Connelly, VN Distribution Manager Katie Paul, + loads of animal-rights-supporting folks from throughout North America

What: AR 2008

Where: Alexandria, Va.

When: August 14–18, 2008

Why: To network, make new friends, educate ourselves and others, and have fun!

The Scoop: You have to love the annual AR conferences. First, the crowd is lively in a way that other conference crowds are not. And by lively, I mean you'll likely find everyone at the hotel bar at evening's end, laughing, shooting the breeze about serious and not-so-serious matters, and letting go of the stress that's generated when we learn about and are reminded of the horrific stuff animals endure.

Second, the folks at FARM—the conference sponsors—switch it up every year, hosting the multi-day event in DC half the time, and LA the other half. This year, I got to travel to DC for the first time ever, and couldn't wait to soak up that humidity like a sponge, to expand my animal-rights knowledge a bit more, and meet some cool, like-minded folks.

After a fitful red-eye flight from San Francisco and a two-hour layover in New York, I finally arrived in DC and shuttled myself to the Hilton, only to find that the room Katie and I'd be sharing wasn't yet available. Thankfully, the hotel pool had comfy reclining chairs, and since the conference didn't start until the next day, the two of us headed off to relax and unwind after our travels. Sharing the poolside ambience was a youthful gang of conference attendees glugging energy drinks and noshing what looked like Doritos corn chips. Cheesy Doritos? At an animal-rights conference? "I think those might be the new vegan Doritos I've heard about," said Katie. Are you kidding me? Where've I been? "Excuse me, but are those the vegan Doritos we've heard about?" Yes! Came the enthusiastic reply. "You want to try some?" Do we ever!

Newlywed Katie Paul modeling vegan Doritos

They were good, too. Darnit!

Next day, the two of us worked our butts off at our booth selling subscriptions, but we also managed to squeeze in some schmoozing and socializing. We were lucky to have our friends from Organic Athlete and Vegan Bodybuilding right across from us, so we spent quality time with Jeremy Moore and the always-fun-and-chatty Robert Cheeke, and we also met up with The Traveling Vegetarian, aka Yvonne Smith, plus the fun and funny Erica Meier from COK, new NYC girlfriend Emily Elkins and her two darling doggies Lola and Bella, and VN contributing writer Eric Prescott.

That evening, I had plans to meet with my new fun friend Dustin Rhodes, whom I met at Vegetarian Summerfest and whose wicked sense of humor kept us in good spirits despite the crappy weather. Dustin works at Friends of Animals and lives in DC, so he's equipped with insider knowledge on the best places in town to eat. We decided on Ethiopian and headed over to Dukem restaurant for what might've been the biggest veggie-combo-for-two-platter I've ever had the good fortune of indulging in. As usual, I ate twice as much of everything as Dustin, including the most delicious curried potatoes that tasted more Indian than Ethiopian, plus collards, lentils, peas, and salads. I'm actually considering relocating to east Africa now—or the East Coast at the very least.

Next, we headed to Busboys and Poets, where the joint was jumping and the atmosphere felt festive. Too bad our stomachs were at full capacity, 'cause I sure would've liked to try the vegan calzone (never had one of those!) or the vegan pepperoni pizza. Next time! After throwing back a few cooling adult beverages and chatting about everything under the sun, we realized the witching hour was approaching, and it was time to say so long. Dustin walked me to the Metro and we called it a night. Arriving at the Hilton in the early hours of the morning, I could hardly believe the size of the crowd converging at the hotel bar. Holy smokes, guys!

Saturday was to be my first time representing VegNews at the first of two panel discussions, and once I got that out of the way, the relaxation could begin. Popping next door to the Pangea booth, I shared a packet of vegan doughnuts and a cinnamon roll with Katie, who isn't the least bit ashamed of her sweet tooth, and who later indulged in an ice-cream cone from the Chicago Soy Dairy booth. We were on a sugar roll, because later we met and tasted the wares of young entrepreneur Emily Mainquist of Emily's Desserts, who is making some really delicious vegan-certified cookies that you'll hopefully get to try soon. My favorite flavor is Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. No, wait: make that Coconut Cranberry!

Surprisingly, there was no sugar crash to prevent us from fully appreciating that evening's dinner and awards ceremony, so six-ish or so, Katie, Joe, and I lined up for the big buffet—an interesting melange that included quinoa salad, a tofu-and-veggies combination, and some breaded fake meat-type thing with stuffing inside—and headed into the great-big ballroom. Sharing our table with a nice family from Ohio, we chit-chatted until the first presenter took the stage. Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society gave the keynote speech, and big winners included HSUS' Paul Shapiro, who was inducted into the AR Hall of Fame, and animal activist/anti-landmine campaigner Heather Mills, who won the Celebrity Animal Advocate Award. Turns out she's a real champion for animals, and a generally lovely person. Hearing her speak made us all forget about our rather uninspired dessert: Tofutti Cuties served on a silver salver. No, really!

Celebrity Animal Advocate Award-winner Heather Mills, and VN's Aurelia d'Andrea

TAFA Times

Who: VN Publisher Joseph Connelly, VN Senior Editor Elizabeth Castoria, + VN Distribution Manager Katie Donaldson
What: Taking Action for Animals
Where: Arlington, Va.
When: July 19–21, 2008
Why: Because animals need us to take action!

The Scoop: While most tourists tend to avoid the Washington, DC, area during the throes of July's humidity, attending TAFA was reason enough for our troupe to brave the thick, wet air. Luckily, the hotel in which the convention was held was well equipped to deal with our wilting and kept the AC flowing freely. After getting settled, we all enjoyed the welcome reception and met up with multitudes of enthusiastic advocates. TAFA is put on by The Humane Society of the United States, and who do you think was the very first person to welcome us to the conference? That would be president Wayne Pacelle, of course. After mingling to our hearts content and getting to know our fellow attendees, Katie and I decided to strike out on our own in search of some substantial eats. It took us more time to read over the extensive menu at The Vegetable Garden than it had to get there on the Metro. The crispy eggplant, orange beef with pineapple, and organic vegetable delight revived us from our day of traveling.

The next morning we hustled downstairs to the exhibition hall to make sure we were ready for the VN-hungry crowds. Well, okay, they may have had one other reason to stop by our booth: the Sticky Fingers Cupcake Party! That's Sticky Finger's own Ben Adams and Doron Petersan you see holding a hefty box of cupcakes below. It took only 20 minutes for all 200 incredibly yummy treats to get distributed to the eager masses. There are likely better methods of taking action for animals than gorging on vegan cupcakes, but none as sweet!

We spent the rest of the conference enjoying the oratory skills of Gene Baur, VN columnist Rory Freedman, web-media guru Joe Trippi, and anti-puppy-mill crusader Jana Kohl, and munching on the exquisite fare provided by Veg Advantage's Chef Lex Townes. Let me just say that I could have easily eaten 10 of the incredible faux-chicken panini with melty, dairy-free cheese and fresh tomatoes that we noshed for lunch on Saturday. Though, it would have been a shame to be too full to eat at the banquet Saturday night, which featured some of the best freaking mashed potatoes I've ever had, and a scrumptuous faux-chicken breast in an outrageously good herbed mushroom sauce. Another highlight of the banquet was Carol Leifer's fall-down funny presentation. We were lucky enough to have the highly comedic comedian at our banquet table, and she was kind enough to snap a photo with Katie and me (above). Despite the heat and humidity, a great time was had by all!

V is for ... Victory!

Who: VN Publisher Joseph Connelly, Managing Editor Aurelia d'Andrea, Senior Editor Jennifer Pickens, and a whole herd of hard-working friends of farm animals
What: A food and drink-fueled victory party
Why: to celebrate signature-gathering success and getting animal-friendly legislation on the November ballot
When: Saturday, April 5
Where: The San Francisco SPCA

The Scoop: After nearly five months spent signature-gathering throughout the state of California as part of the Humane California ballot initiative project and reaching the lofty goal of collecting 500,000 signatures, Bay Area farmed animal advocates definitely earned their right to party. And that they did.

On an early spring night in the Mission-slash-Potrero district of San Francisco, a couple hundred signature-gathering heros met and mingled over fresh crudités, mini cupcakes, and glasses of Frey Vineyards wine, and listened as the amazing Nora Kramer—a good friend of VegNews and a dedicated animal activist who worked non-stop to make this project a success—gave props to the people who made the ballot initiative a success. At her side this evening and throughout the campaign was Karin Olsson, another amazing young animal advocate who we hear just landed herself a coveted job at HSUS. (Congratulations, Karin!)

After speeches were made and kudos doled out, guests bought raffle tickets for a chance to attend the May 3 Farm Sanctuary Country Hoe Down*, then proceeded to eat, drink, be merry—and eat some more.

Nora brought the evening to a close by reminding everyone to get involved in Phase Two of this project: getting everyone in the state to vote yes on the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act this November. It's a no-brainer that farmed animals should have the right to stand up, lie down, and flap their wings, right? Mark your calendars for November 4!

*Certain guests, who happen to work for VegNews Magazine, were not among the prizewinners :O(

The After-Party

Who: VN Publisher Joseph Connelly, VN Associate Publisher Colleen Holland, VN Managing Editor Aurelia d’Andrea, and VN Senior Editor Elizabeth Castoria
What: The Genesis Awards After-Party
Where: The Beverly Hills Ballroom at The Beverly Hilton Hotel
When: March 29–30, 2008
Why: To party, dance, and schmooze with a glam group of animal lovers

The Scoop: Just when we thought the evening couldn’t be topped, the doors swing open to an after-party that went until the wee hours of the morning. With leatherette lounge seating, soft candlelight, and long tables displaying rows of vegan French pastries, this may have been veggie heaven. And let’s not forget the rockin’ disco and '80s tunes that kept us dancing all night long—let’s just hope no blackmail footage of a certain trio of VN staffers surfaces anytime soon. Busting the moves alongside us on the dance floor were Rory Freedman, Paul Watson, Karen Dawn, Gene Baur, Samantha Ragsdale, Lorri Bauston, Rey Ortega, Ari Solomon (love his line of soy candles), Denise Borchert, Susan Weingartner, and a bevy of other fabulous veggies. To loosen things up even more, the Champagne, wine, and cocktails were flowing.

But let’s get back to those French pastries. They were stunning—in fact, we poked and prodded around just to make sure the confections were indeed vegan. Our hosts and the hotel staff assured us they were, so indulge we did. Envision mini tartlets topped with a whipped soy meringue, chocolate mousse towers draped in chocolate shavings, pots of warm chocolate fondue with fresh strawberries, European-style cookies, petites gateaux—oh yes, these were as close to the real deal as they come. The pastry chef on staff deserves some kind of medal.

While some party goers danced, others nibbled, sipped, and chatted with fellow vegetarians. There’s nothing like being surrounded by great people doing great work—it’s incredibly inspiring and gives us hope for a more compassionate future. We also need to remember to have fun and kick up our heels every once in a while. Mission accomplished.

Fancy-Pants Awards Show

Who: VN Publisher Joseph Connelly, VN Associate Publisher Colleen Holland, VN Managing Editor Aurelia d'Andrea, and VN Senior Editor Elizabeth Castoria
What: The 22nd Annual Genesis Awards
Where: The Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, Calif.
When: March 29, 2008
Why: Because we're fancy. Also, because VN is a longtime sponsor of the Genesis Awards.

The Scoop: The Genesis Awards are kind of a big deal. By that we mean they're basically the Oscars of the animal-rights movement. Presented by The Humane Society of the United States, they honor major media's efforts to raise awareness of animal issues—a category into which fall news teams who report on slaughterhouse horrors, comedy writers who joke about burgers not looking anything like cows, and documentarians who bring the reality of our environment to life. So, the room ends up packed with people who, in some way, are working to make life better for animals—and who just happen to be dressed to the nines.

The VN table was in no short supply of lovely people, as we were joined by good friends Rey Ortega, Jill Hahn, Denise Herrick Borchert, Walter Borchert, Billy Hulting, and Andrea Gullo (all captured glamorously above). The all-vegan dinner featured a light salad with grilled tofu, a main course of faux chicken, pasta, beets, carrots, and broccolini, and an indulgent dessert of chocolate mousse cake decorated with a flourish of raspberry and peach coulis.

After dinner, the awards ceremony began. After introductions from Bill Maher, HSUS President Wayne Pacelle, and Senior Director of the Hollywood office of the HSUS, Beverly Kaskey, awards were handed out by the likes of Kyle MacLachlan, Persia White, and Linda Cardellini. Winners included Rob Stewart's Sharkwater, 60 Minutes, CSI:Crime Scene Investigation, and Hayden Panetierre took home this year's Wyler Award—named for the Genesis Awards' founder, the late Gretchen Wyler. Since many of the nominations were for news series dealing with issues such as dog fighting, puppy mills, and slaughterhouses, it was certainly a plus to have so many stars to ogle and distract us while graphic footage was broadcast on giant movie screens. Speaking of cute stars, can anyone get enough of Rory Freedman? Judging by the looks of the guys below, we're guessing that'd be a "no."
Be sure to check out our full report from the after-party, coming soon on Press Pass!