One Month Countdown Till Feast!

So, September is only two weeks away. I’m not going to lie, it makes me a little sad as summers in Oregon are so great. The beautiful weather, friends coming to town, fun picnics, weddings, and festivals nearly every day of the week. It’s busy and at times chaotic juggling everything, but it’s always wonderful enjoying the Oregon sunshine. So with autumn just around the corner, I am usually a smidge fretful that I haven’t enjoyed summer to the fullest. But that is another reason the ninth month of the year is so nice, it’s the perfect transition month from summer to fall, with still nice weather and packed with great events.

Here are a few of my favorite things about September:

College football begins! Yes, as my good friend Hannah will attest, when I was actually in college, I was mediocre on the football subject. But I’m a real big fan now. I love going to games and the atmosphere in the stadium, I love getting together with friends to watch someone’s house or a fun bar, and of course I love that the Ducks are talented, fast and a great team to cheer for!

My birthday! Now I’m not a huge birthday person, I’m not really that into presents and the change of years doesn’t seem to make a huge difference to my life in the grand scheme of things. But I do love that birthdays are an excuse to get together with my favorite people. This year I’m turning the big 3-0 (!!) and my friends are surprising me with a day of fun (you girls are the best). Now, that I am really excited about it!

Feast Portland! These are probably the best four days of the year. From September 18^th – 21^st Portland is turned into a massive party filled with the best chefs from around the city and the nation, and fantastic food and drinks. Plus it is hosted by some of my favorite people in the culinary world, Carrie Welch, Jannie Huang, Frances Dyer, and Chloe Highberger of Little Green Pickle (among others of course). This year I am beyond thrilled to be going with a Blogger Pass, which means I get to attend almost all the big events.

– Brunch Village: If you are from Portland or know about Portland, you know how obsessed we are with brunch here. I’ve once read that “Portlanders don’t go to church on Sundays, they go to brunch.” This celebrates that with dishes from places like The Country Cat, Pine State Biscuits, New York’s Black Seed Bagels, and Austin’s Franklin Barbeque, and a brunch-themed cocktail competition.

– Night Market: I don’t have tickets to this one but I hear it’s going to be amazing! Held at the Zidell Yards on the east waterfront, this event features an array of street food from Asia, Italy, India and around the globe.

– Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting: Two days of sampling Oregon’s best artisans, wineries and breweries, plus cooking demonstrations from some of the country’s best chefs.

– High Comfort: This is where Feast gets swanky, with more than 20 chefs offering comfort food taken to a new level. This event is supposed to be really classy and encourages folks to “put on your cuff links and high heels.” I’ll probably have to spend the next month figuring out what to wear… (tough life I lead, I know)

– Sandwich Invitational: 14 top chefs come to Director Park to create the best sandwich. I went last year and had such a fun time. It was a great vibe with delicious creative food.

If that wasn’t enough for you, there are also:

– Classes like Candy is Magic taught by one of my favorite people Jami Curl of QUIN Candy

– Tasting Panels including Beans and Booze where guests will learn about coffee cocktails

– Dinner Series which bring together local and visiting chefs for a like the Dessert for Dinner event that I’m unsurprisingly really excited about. Five of the best pastry chefs are coming together for multi-course meal of sweet treats. Seriously that is going to be so awesome. You should all join me.

Check out the full schedule here.

A lot of events are sold out or are close to selling out, so don’t wait, go get tickets now!

Plus the net proceeds of this event go towards ending childhood hunger in Oregon and around the country through Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon and Share Our Strength. Are you interested in attending Feast but not really sure about the cost or your favorite event was sold out already?

Consider volunteering! I volunteered for the Sandwich Invitational last year and had a blast.

You can select which events you’d like to work, and generally what kind of work activities you’d like to do, such as checking in guests or helping the chefs, which is what I was doing. Plus you also get plenty of time to enjoy the event yourself without having to pay the high prices.

With all this going on, perhaps September and the quickly approaching fall season doesn’t seem so bad.

*Disclaimer: as mentioned above, I did receive a blogger pass in exchange for 3 posts, but as always, these thoughts are my own. As I’m obviously pretty darn obsessed with the food industry in Portland, I love this event and would definitely pay or volunteer to attend, as I have in the past.