Location: Portland, OR
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Description: Portland VegFest is celebrating its fifth anniversary on September 19 with an exciting line-up of speakers and a new, larger home at the Oregon Convention Center.
Started in 2005 by Northwest VEG, a local nonprofit organization, the annual festival has become Oregon’s remier vegetarian food and education extravaganza, thanks to the overwhelmingly positive support of exhibitors, sponsors, and the general public. Currently a nationwide nominee for “Favorite Veg Event” in the annual VegNews magazine reader survey, Portland VegFest is expected to attract a growing number of people from all over the region, as well as vegetarian tourists from around the country.
Headlining speakers for 2009 will include the following:
Rip Esselstyn, author of the New York Times best-seller, “The Engine 2 Diet.” Esselstyn is a Texas firefighter and a former world-class professional tri-athlete who encouraged his colleagues at the firehouse to adopt a plant-based diet for the sake of their health. Esselstyn’s easy-to-follow, 28-day plan is guaranteed to reduce cholesterol levels and help participants lose weight not through portion control or counting calories, but by eating foods that are nutrient-dense, low in calories and high in fiber.
Kathy Freston, author of “Quantum Wellness” and her recent follow-up title, “The Quantum Wellness Cleanse.” Freston is widely known for her influential 2008 guest appearance on “Oprah,” and she is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and AlterNet and LA Times Magazine. Freston promotes a body/mind/spirit philosophy that includes gentle encouragement toward a plant-based diet. In O Magazine, Oprah Winfrey wrote, “Kathy Freston struck a nerve for me by speaking of a higher level of awareness, what she calls “spiritual integrity.”
John A. McDougall, M.D., founder and medical director of the McDougall Program, a ten-day residential health program located at a luxury resort in Santa Rosa, California. His highly successful approach to wellness emphasizes a ourishing plant-based diet that reverses the progression of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, without the use of drugs. A board-certified internist, Dr. McDougall is the author of multiple best-sellers about health, and one of America’s leading advocates of dietary change as a means of preventing illness.
Vesanto Melina, M.S., R.D., a dietary consultant for the government of British Columbia and the coauthor of “Raw Food Revolution Diet, “The New Becoming Vegetarian,” “Becoming Vegan,” and the “The Food Allergy Survival Guide.” She is an internationally known speaker and has taught nutrition at the University of British Columbia and at Seattle’s Bastyr University. Vesanto is co-author of Dietitians of Canada’s and the American Dietetic Association’s joint position paper on vegetarian diets.
Portland VegFest will also feature a full slate of recipe demonstrations with FREE tastings available to the audience.
Confirmed presenters include the following:
Gabrielle Chavez, founder of the Raw and Living Spirit Retreat and author of “The Raw Food Gourmet” and “Going Raw for Total Well Being.”
David Gabbe, a local cooking instructor and speaker at numerous health symposiums and conferences. He is the author of five books, including “David’s Pure Vegetarian Kitchen,” “The Going Vegetarian Cookbook,” and “Why Do Vegetarians Eat Like That?”
Chef Wes Hannah from Blossoming Lotus Café, the highly acclaimed gourmet vegetarian restaurant in Portland’s Pearl District.
Julie Hasson, host of www.everydaydish.tv and the author of five dessert cookbooks, most recently “The Complete Pie Book.”
Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Post Punk Kitchen blogger and best-selling author of four cookbooks, including the recently released “Vegan Brunch.”
As in years past, Portland VegFest will feature an “Ask the Experts” table and an exhibition room where attendees can enjoy FREE samples of delicious food and drink from local, regional, and national companies. Also back by popular demand will be a wide variety of informative classes on topics like sustainability, family living, and nutrition.
Classes will be taught by the following:
Sussanna Czeranko, ND, a naturopathic physician with a private practice at the Natural College of Naturopathic Medicine. In her presentation, “Preventing Cancer: Eating Outside the Box, Can and Jar,” she will discuss tips for strengthening the immune system through diet.
Richard Heitsch, MD, MPH, FACS, medical director of the Integrated Medicine Group in Northeast Portland. An expert in sports medicine and rehabilitation, he will give a presentation called “Vegan Diet for Optimal Athletic Performance.”
Kathy Hessler, JD, director and clinical professor at the Animal Law Clinic at Lewis and Clark College.
Chef Brian McCarthy, creator of the delicious fare at the vegan food station in the company cafeteria of Intel’s Oregon headquarters. He is also the father of two children and the co-author of “The Vegan Family Cookbook.” McCarthy will give a talk called “The Challenges and Rewards of being a Family on a Vegan Diet.”
Sharon Methvin, Ph.D., an anthropologist who serves as a consultant on animal welfare issues. Most recently, her research and activism brought her into the animal markets of China and into the lives and efforts of the nation’s brave animal activists. Methvin’s lecture will be titled “Making a Difference for Animals—One Bite at a Time.”
Musical entertainment will be provided by SweetJuice, John Davidson, Seth Martin, Kate Mann, Amy Bleu, and
Dawnya Clarine.
Date: 2009-09-19
