Vida Vegan Con, 2011

Who: Managing Editor Elizabeth Castoria and most of the VN crew
What: Vida Vegan Con, the world's first vegan blogging conference!

Where: Portland, Ore.

When: August 25 to 28, 2011

Why: Why would we miss a first-of-its-kind event that combines media, awesome people, and fantastic vegan food?

The Scoop: When there's a totally vegan blogging conference held in the vegan mecca that is Portland, Ore., you go. That's all there is to it. The VN team first heard about Vida Vegan Con last year, and we've been eagerly anticipating it ever since. Finally, this past weekend, our excitement reached a fever pitch as we left the office on Thursday afternoon and headed for the City of Roses. Once the wheels hit the tarmac, we were off and running.

Our first stop was Vendetta, a cute bar with a lovely outdoor patio where a group of VVCers were gathered. Let's just say that we wasted no time in mingling among the very awesome attendees.

Allison Rivers Samson and Terry Hope Romero, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Fran Costigan, Colleen Holland, and me! (Photo via Allison Rivers Samson)

Yes, that is an all-star lineup if I dare say so myself. In the background you can see The Oregonian's Grant Butler, Native Bowl's Julie Hasson, and the flaxen locks of VN contributor Dynise Balcavage. Not a bad way to kick off a conference, if you ask us! After chatting for a bit we rushed over to a sneak peek screening of Vegucated, hosted by the film's creator Marisa Miller Wolfson.

Friday we spent galavanting around Portland. Our first stop? Duh, the vegan mini-mall. We met up with Michelle from Herbivore Clothing Company at Sweetpea Baking Company for some morning grub. Bagels, scones, bars, and big, strong lattes were in order. After stuffing ourselves and chatting, we headed to Herbivore to peruse the goods. Hello, adorable animal-rights themed hoodies, buttons, stickers, and more! We could have easily walked away with one of everything from Herbivore, but the most popular purchase was actually this cool One Line a Day: A Five-Year Memory Book, which three of us on staff picked up. Then, we stopped at Food Fight! Vegan Grocery. We were like kids in a literal candy store. I couldn't resist grabbing a handful of Crazy Rumors Lip Balm, a packet of JJ's Sweet's Cocomels in Fleur de Sel, and a couple of Halo Bars for Assistant Editor Anna Peraino, who wasn't with us on the trip and freaks out for them. Is there any greater joy in life than freaking out your coworkers with surprise treats? Heck no. Friday night we headed back to the hotel for a kick off Champagne and cupcake reception, which VN hosted. You know who likes cupcakes and Champagne? Everybody, that's who. After our aperitifs, we headed to Portobello for a special meal with VN contributors. Chef Aaron Adams blew us away with his inventive, locally sourced, phenomenally delicious cuisine. Check out a course-by-course recap by our Raw Done Right columnist, Gena Hamshaw at Choosing Raw. A stellar, four-hour meal shared with brilliant colleagues? Things really don't get better.

 Colleen moderates the Travel Panel

Saturday and Sunday we got down to business. The days were jam packed with the bulk of the conference. The panels were fantastic, the speakers engaging, the food demonstrations delicious, and the Galarama a ton of fun. With so many fantastic vegan bloggers in attendance, there's no shortage of great coverage of the individual panels; check out Vida Vegan Con's Facebook page for a roundup of recaps. For the visually minded, check out our Facebook gallery. 

The panel was a total success, not to mention a blast. Kudos are due to the organizers—Jess Scone, Michele Truty, and Janessa Philemon-Kerp—who saw a need for something in their community, and took it upon themselves to fill it. It's creative, dedicated activism like theirs that will power the next phase vegan living, in whatever form it takes.

Vegan Iron Chef!

Who: VN West Coast Ad Rep Lara Bradley

What: Vegan Iron Chef Competition After Party

Where: Backspace, Portland, Ore.

When: June 6, 2010

Why: To celebrate competitive vegan chefs!

The Scoop: Bragging Rights: I am the only staffer who resides in ultra-hip Portland, the number one vegan city in the country. Yes, Kokopelli dances regularly, but with such an established vegan community, the rain can’t dampen the attitudes and lifestyles here in progressive Portland.

A recent Sunday evening was no exception as Try Vegan PDX held their Inaugural Vegan Iron Chef Competition in front of a sold out audience of 125 drooling and envious on-lookers as they watched the five lucky judges sample appetizers, entrées, and desserts from three talented and skilled Portland chefs all vying to claim the title.

The esteemed chefs were Qausu AsaaseYaa, from Asaase Ital Palace, Wes Hannah of Blossoming Lotus, and Aaron Adams of Portobello. A secret ingredient that was to be integrated into every course was revealed to the chefs just 25 minutes before the cook-off and that coveted ingredient was—drum roll please—chocolate!

The announcers of the evening, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, author of Vegan with a Vengeance, and Michelle Schwegmann, co-owner of Herbivore Clothing Company, kept the masses entertained as the judges sampled to oohs and aahs and wrote down their secret scores. The event was live-streamed to an international audience of Portland WannaBes, rain and all, oohing and aahing from their dry couches.

After a close race and some tough decisions by the judges, Qausu AsaaseYaa, was crowned as the Winner of the Inaugural Vegan Iron Chef. Aausu graciously accepted the title for her three tantalizing dishes:

Caramelized Plantains And Chocolate Coconut Sauce With Micro greens
Chocolate Groundnut Stew With Onion Rice
Gari Peanut Candy Hearts With Cashew Chocolate Cream And Berries

Qausu AsaaseYaa, hard at work. Photo by Lucas DeShazer

After the nail biting competition, an after party was held at Backspace Café where Camping Party rocked the house and kept the vibe alive. Prizes were raffled off and appetizers for the food-deprived crowd were abundant. Wine donated by Hip Chicks Do Wine provided a close to a picture perfect cruelty-free evening.

Time to Let Live—In Portland, That Is

Who: VN Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig
What: The Let Live NW Animal Rights Conference
Where: Portland State University
When: June 26–28, 2009
Why: To mingle with fellow activists who are fighting for the animals

The Scoop: Let Live is an animal-rights conference in Portland, Ore., dedicated to teaching skills and strategies to aspiring activists—"For anybody who wants to live and let live." It is a smaller conference, but strong with sponsors and speakers from such prominent AR organizations and companies as Compassion Over Killing, Mercy for Animals, and Herbivore Clothing. I was very excited to be the lone representative for VegNews for several reasons. First being that this was my first time participating in an animal-rights conference. Second, I had never visited Portland, and since it was named the "veg city taking over the world" in the November+December '08 issue of VegNews, it has been on my radar for quite some time.

Two nights and two days is not nearly enough time to explore the entirety of Portland, but I tried to fill in as much as I could. After doing a little research, I decided to check out an Italian restaurant called Portobello Vegan Trattoria, which sounded amazing. It was definitely a trek from the PSU campus, but the meal was totally worth it. The Tiramisu alone would have validated the long bus ride.

The following day, after another harrowing bus ride, which involved going in the wrong direction for about half an hour, I arrived at the famous vegan strip mall—a group of four stores including Sweet Pea Baking Company, Herbivore, Food Fight Grocery, and Scapegoat Tattoo (yes, even tattoo ink is not all vegan). With little time to spare I went into Food Fight and was bombarded with vegan goods of all kinds. Alas, I only had so much to spend, so I purchased some Eco-Planet non-dairy cheddar crackers (taste just like Goldfish), a Buccaneer candy bar from Go Max Go Foods, and a PROBAR. But these were only snacks, and I was in the mood for a substantial meal, so I walked a couple of blocks and stumbled upon Hungry Tiger Too, which appears to be an ordinary bar, but I was tipped off about it having a completely separate vegan menu, and boy was that true! I did what any normal person would do and ordered a club sandwich with a side of fries. It was all that my heart desired: tempeh bacon, faux turkey, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and Vegenaise. Yum!


The rest of my weekend was spent at the conference—two days full of back-to-back workshops and speaking events. I was lucky enough to hear VN contributor Jasmin Singer speak about how to use writing to further the cause of animals, as well as hear vegan cookbook-author extraordinaire, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, speak about cooking vegan on a budget. Both were very informative and interesting with a lot of discussion among the participants. The workshops covered a wide range of topics, all centered around honing your skills as an activist, and the enthusiasm for the cause was infectious. There's no doubt that the participants left with new ideas and strategies under their belts.

Jasmin et moi

So it was back to San Francisco for me, and though it was a short trip (too short, in my opinion), it was a trip full of excitement, new ideas, and good food. You can't beat that!