Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I've never been but am considering going this year.

Worth it? Fun? Need to go both days, or is Saturday the day to check it out? How much swag do you walk away with?

I'm stoked to see some of my favorite chefs (I <3 Aaron Adams and Piper Dixon) doing cooking demos.

Yes! You should definitely go. I've always managed to walk out of there with a pretty full bag without spending much at all (Teese and Dandies are ridiculously cheap), and you can totally build a lunch with all the samples.

I don't think you'd need to go both days. When I went, yes I was glad I did go, and it was fun, but I did feel like it ended up costing all together more than it was worth. But indeed there is just something quite nice about being in such a giant space packed full of veggies, and that there was so much veg food as far as the eye could see.

Question for someone that has a better memory than I... do all the vendors there have to be selling 100% vegan food only? Sampling etc? Or it is veg as in, vegetarian?

I'm pretty sure VegFest went 100% vegan a couple of years ago...



And yeah, if you're patient and can handle a giant crowd for at least an hour or two, it's fun to wander through, for sure. I've gone every year, and it's really great to see how much it's grown. I'm looking forward to Grant Butler and Nicole from Upton's talks this year, and Piper, Julie & Aaron's demos (I don't see times yet for these). http://nwveg.org/vegfest

I mean, I'll be there, so...

I've had fun every time that I have been there. I end up leaving with a bag stuffed with freebies and a belly stuffed with samples, so it is definitely worth it in my book. Plus, they have a coupon that you can print off from the website for a dollar off admission.

Also, if you volunteer for a few hours, you get free admission for both days. I signed up to volunteer this year and I actually got assigned to help out with Piper Dixon's demo!

Portland VegFest samples/sales have always been vegan. To decide which day you want to attend, check out the schedule of talks and demos for each day - it should all be posted soon if it isn't already! And if you're concerned about overcrowding, come Sunday.
www.portlandvegfest.org

Costs more than it's worth? Isn't it only like $6?

Volunteer a shift and get in free, if $6 is too much. NW veg has shifts and so do OSNF, Rabbit advocates and I am sure several other non-profits. I think $6 is a bargain though.

Sweet, thanks all. I'm really looking forward to this - will probably be there on Saturday!

And if nothing else, the $6 does go to NW Veg and their planning efforts, which is you know, nice to support!

You can download a coupon for $1 off from the website, as well as pick them up all over town. I'm guessing most people eat more than the price of admission in free samples, plus there are lots of cents & dollar off product coupons given out too. PLUS - the talks and demos are fabulous; it's a chance to see and hear a lot of renowned vegan experts and activists. Here's the schedule: http://nwveg.org/vegfest_schedule_2011

the $6 is fine obviously but I'm pretty sure I remember there feeling like not a lot of point going if one wasn't buying things. Like lunch for example. I went years ago, maybe the sampling wasn't as good, but I definitely did not eat even $6 worth of samples, and lunch was quite pricey for what you got.

But like I already said, it's worth it to go just for the experience.

Is this for sure? I was just looking at the website, and one of the sponsors is Toby's. I found out the hard (stupid) way that not all of the spreads are vegan, and the dressings aren't either.

I am sure they won't be sampling the non vegan ones. Every Veg Fest I have gone too has been 100% vegan.

This! Last year Toby's only had the vegan goodies on the table.

Mars, you should really check it out again! I made the mistake of eating lunch last year before I went.

I hope people had fun! There were a few glitches, including the day-of chef demo cancellation by Aaron Adams/Portobello and no-show by Piper Dixon/Kitchen Dances. One of the highlights for me was hearing and meeteing Helen Atthowe, a veganic farmer, researcher and consultant.

VegFest does specify (and always has) that all food and handouts are to be vegan only. We monitor it the best we can, and to my knowledge no vegetarian food has snuck in, but a few handouts have, over the years.

We had 6500+ attendees this year. In previous years our surveys have indicated that 1/3 consider themselves vegan, 1/3 vegetarian and 1/3 omnivore.

That. Was. Fantastic.

I only went one day (Saturday), but I had such a great time. I tried a million different samples (when did Teese get so good?), grabbed a bunch of coupons (thanks Wildwood!!), finally convinced my boyfriend that a crappy blender wont do (he's currently researching Blendtec v. VitaMix), became a NWVeg member, finally bought a Moon Cup, learned some fantastic pie tips from Julie Hasson (that demo was so good!!), and got to spend several hours talking to like-minded people.

I was super bummed that Aaron Adams didn't show up. BUT I finally got to see Forks Over Knives, so that was cool.

I can't wait for next year. What a wonderful event.

I thought it was the best VegFest yet!

Yeah, I was sad that Piper Dixon didn't show up, especially since I was supposed to help with the prep and set up for his demo and I was really looking forward to it. But other than that, I had a great time. The people who were running the kitchen were so friendly and fun. I will definitely be volunteering again next year!

Saturday was CRAZY, so many people came through. Fewer looney tunes types than last year, too. All in all, an enjoyable experience.

What a great VegFest! I was really surprised how many non-veg acquaintances and/or friends I ran into there, and also non-veg people talking it up on Facebook! And the samples were glorious.

Most notable: the guy who approached me at the Vegan Iron Chef table and asked if I wanted some pollen from his super shady flask.

I didn't make it due to the crowds but I had a non-veg work mate approach me this week saying they went with a vegan family member. They let me know how inspiring it was. Very nice.

He offered some to me, too. The surprise was that he was the only one offering.