Feast Portland 2018: Get Ready to Feast

I received a media pass to Feast Portland. As always, all opinions are my own.

It’s that time of the year again… it’s time to Feast! As Portland ramps up to Feast, I guarantee you that every foodie in town has September 13 to September 16 marked on their calendar. Now in its seventh year, Feast Portland offers something for everyone, from all-inclusive events to educational tasting panels. You can pick and choose or go all out with a package deal.

2017 was my first Feast, and this year, I’ll be covering Feast again so be sure to follow along on Instagram Stories for real time updates straight from the festival! As always, I’ll be scoping out veg-friendly options at a festival that isn’t exactly known for skewing in that direction. But that’s what makes it so much more interesting, right?!

With less than a month until Feast, some of the more exclusive events have already sold out, but you can still snag last minute tickets to others. And there’s still time to try your luck with Feast For Life FlyPDX! where you have a chance to win the ultimate Feast pass: two Feast Portland “The Package” passes for life. Say what?! Also, any out-of-towners who still haven’t booked flights (procrastination… it happens to the best of us), you can enjoy a 10% discount when you book your flight with Alaska Air.

This year, Feast Portland has added more hands on, interactive experiences while keeping the large scale events that Feast fans have come to love. Here’s my quick overview of Feast Portland 2018, and as we get closer to the festival, I’ll share my list of chefs and brands that I’ll be paying close attention to.

Main Events

If you’re new to Feast and wanna get a feel for what all the fuss is about, the Grand Tasting is where you’ll get the most bang for your buck. Your $75 ticket gets you access to over 80 vendors from big name chefs to local food artisans. Last year, I snacked on vegan bites from Kite Hill, Petunia’s, and more, while slowly tasting my way through some of the best breweries, cideries, and wineries from the Pacific Northwest.

Many of the other Main Events are more of a splurge, and from what I’ve seen so far, they’re better suited for my omnivore readers. That said, I am so curious to see what Farm Spirit‘s Kei Ohdera will be bringing to Smoked!

Drink Tanks

Everyone knows that Portland’s got a great food scene, but Portland’s beverage scene is not to be forgotten. Local breweries, ciders, wineries, distilleries… we are seriously spoiled, and Feast Portland does a great job at bringing the best of the best together in one place with Drink Tank panels where you get to taste along with top industry experts. This year’s lineup covers session cocktails, Italian wines, natural wines, rose-inspired ciders and beers, amari and aperitif liqueurs, and mezcal. I learned a lot last year, so you can bet that I’ll be hitting these up as well. See ya there!

Dinners, Fun-Sized Events & Classes

The Feast dinner series is another splurge, and from what I’ve heard, those sell out fast! I’ve been hoping that someday Feast will do a fully plant-based dinner, so if you guys will keep your fingers crossed with me, I’d really appreciate it. ;)

Feast Portland’s Fun-Sized Events and Classes are where things start to get really interesting. This year Fun-Sized lineup includes a Healthyish 5k with brunch foods at the finish line, an Iron Mixologist cocktail showdown, and a Basically Bar Trivia night for all the food nerds out there. I love that this year’s classes go beyond food and drink, including how to style the perfect al fresco picnic, using cannabis in the kitchen, and crafting with macrame.

Note: This post is in collaboration with Feast Portland. I received a media pass to the festival. This was not in exchange for a positive review and all opinions expressed here are my own.