VVC left me totally stuffed:
1. Belly full of glorious eats
2. Suitcases (plural) stuffed with swag and goodies
3. Mind filled with ideas and inspiration
4. Heart filled with love!
1) The Eats!
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PDX Breakfast
showcase!
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Erewhon Cereal Day!
FRESH FRUIT. |
Make a sandwich day
I got carried away!
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glorious vegan Gordito!
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The food at the VVC was really wonderful! I stuffed myself like a happy little vegan all weekend long, and it was really glorious. These are just a few of the filling and fun meals we had!
coffee break!
All weekend long there were ice cream bars from So Delicious, ice cream samples from Coconut Bliss (long live Mint Chip!), and ice cream samples from WayFare Foods. Honestly though, I only got around to having this one ice cream bar. Do I lose vegan points for that? I guess I was too busy carbo-loading and drinking more coffee from the all-day coffee bar.
The food at Saturday's Galarama was also really great.
They had food carts out in the back, selling either tacos or Field Roast hot dogs.
My mom and I tried both (of course!)
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Miyoko's Cheese Platter
It was amazing to try so many of Miyoko's cheeses - made by the Maestra herself! |
Mom with a Field Roast Hot Dog!
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Some serious Taco Talk with Terry.
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total freak out
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ZOMG.
This is for realz
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So Delicious was also there - with a GLORIOUS Ice Cream Sundae bar.
To tell you the truth, I hit up that Sundae bar twice. How could I resist!?
Both times I got the Almond-based Mocha Almond Fudge ice cream, and topped it with:
Mini Sweet and Sara Marshmallows, Capitol City brownies (OMG), almonds, walnuts, and chocolate sauce. I was a happy vegan.
I haven't even mentioned the vendors - there were loads of really amazing vendors at the VVC and almost all of them were offering generous samples to nibble on throughout the day. This gal from Missionary Chocolates was super kind and her chocolates were AMAZING. I am really kicking myself for not buying some to bring home. I guess that's what the interwebz is for!
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The welcome bag at the hotel
toiletries and snacks!
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Grainy Goodness
and Savory Treats |
Toiletries and other (mostly) non-edibles
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SWEETIES
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More savory fun!
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Coupons galore and
recipe booklettes! |
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Goodies from the
Game Show Goodie bags
and from the vendors
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VeganCuts gave out some totally amazing Goodie Bags.
I love VeganCuts!
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Super Special Speaker Swag!
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Oh man! There was really a lot of LOOT at this conference. I am a bit of an organizational nerd, so I photographed my swag in distinct little groupings. From the Swag Bag to the giveaways from all the vendors - it was both GLORIOUS and a bit overwhelming! My plan is to slowly make my way through these goodies and to blog about some of my favorites!
Here's me doing a selfie on the floor of our hotel room, with my most highly valued VVC tote bag, VVC mug and VVC program. A view up my nose!
love!!
And here's one of my suitcases, stuffed to the max with delicious goodies!!! No surprise that when I finally got home I found a notice that the TSA agents had inspected my luggage. I guess they wanted to revel in the glory of all my swag. Mwahahaha!
3. Mind Filled With Ideas:
The Classes!
Susan Voison talking on Advanced Photography
great class!
I presented 3 classes at the VVC (more on that later), but that also left me plenty of time to attend classes taught by other knowledgable and excellents vegans!
- Vegan Nutrition - with Ginny Messina
- Art of Writing Recipes - Nava Atlas, Dreena Burton and Terry Hope Romero
- Restaurant Reviews with Authority - with Grant Butler
- Vegans of Color - with Terry Hope Romero and Mo Martin
- Incorporating Your Other Creative Talents into Your Blog - with Cadry Nelson
- Advanced Photography - with Susan Voisin
- Recipe Creation and Testing - with Terry Hope Romero
- How to Use Social Media - with Helen Pitlick and Dawn Quinn
- Veganism and Social Justice - with Erika Larson, Jamie Hagen, and Maeve Connor
It was such a wonderful array of topics! It was really nice chatting with the other folks who attended other panels and hearing about the discussions from those classes. I wish I could have gone to all of them!
In the end, I learned about social media (I guess I need to buy a cell phone someday??), nutrition, writing recipes (I really want to get better at this), photography, and the ethical considerations of veganism: all important aspects of being a happy vegan blogger!!
attentive vegans!!
GREAT review. And so organized! I love how you've captured everything in both photos and drawings.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Andrea!! :)
DeleteOMG that is too funny- I got a note saying that the TSA inspected my bag, too! They must have something against vegans...
ReplyDeleteha ha - perhaps they aren't used to seeing giant bags of amaranth, tubes of Teese, and boxes of cereal in people's luggage??
DeleteExactly this... the TSA stopped me with my carry on, took the teese and amaranth out, and put my bag back through the scanner! (they gave me my teese and amaranth back though)
Deleteha ha!!!! That is hilarious, Louzilla!!
Delete:)
I got the TSA inspected note too! They must have been so jealous to see all the goodies I was taking home. :)
ReplyDeletewait! this is hilarious. SO MANY of us got inspected!! This should be a special challenge. Perhaps we could shoot for more people each year to get TSA inspected!
DeleteSuch an awesome review, I loved VVC just as much as you did and I think I made that very same overexcited face at the So Delicious ice cream bar!
ReplyDeleteNick got the TSA inspected note on his way home too, his bag was stuffed full of Clif bars, Tofurky slices and Upton's seitan bacon!
ha ha. Those TSA folks at the PDX airport must have been wondering what the hell was going on! So many bags of amaranth!
DeleteAmey! First of all, seeing your smiling face was one of the highlights of my trip. Thank you for all of your photos because I took a total of [[[drumroll]]] ONE (two if you count the one my daughter took). Photographer shmatographer! Second, the TSA searched our bag, too, and my daughter swears they took her bag of Fritos. So there's definitely a pattern there.
ReplyDeleteThat's so funny that you only took one picture! My mom is a picture-taking maniac, so she got most of the great pics. I'm so glad she did!
DeleteYes, I have no shame. Basic Canon point and shoot. I embarrass my children and grandchildren, but they're used to it, and don't resist. Later, they're grateful.
Deleteyes! I am so grateful, Momsie! :)
DeleteI just want to hug everything in this post, but most importantly, YOU.
ReplyDeleteOh Jess, Hugs hugs hugs hugs hugs to you!!!
DeleteGonna' make the Vida Vegan Con next year, for sure! It will be worth the trip for the goody bags alone! Love your cute drawings and the view up your nose!
ReplyDeleteVAP ~ you won't be sorry to miss the VVC, it is SO much fun! (as you can see!)
Deleteeverything looks amazing! i'm so jealous, i would have loved to go!
ReplyDeleteit's really a total overload of vegan glory!
DeleteLots to say, almost too much. mostly I love the floor selfie.
ReplyDeleteha ha, thanks foodfeud! I wondered - just for a moment - if that was too goofy, but then I realized NOTHING is ever too goofy!
DeleteWhat a very great review! It summarized the experience very well. It was nice to chat at the galarama (over food, of course!).
ReplyDeleteyes, it was super nice to chat with you - I was so happy to meet you Crissie! :)
DeleteGreat recap! Hey, that's my arm (orange shirt) in the Susan Voisin talk! :-) I wish I had introduced myself to you formally but ya know, I'm really bad at initiating conversations. I really enjoy your sketches, your blog and your energy!
ReplyDeleteOh, LuminousVegans, I wish you had introduced yourself! Next time, okay?? :) I hadn't ever seen your blog before but I LOVE it!! It's so beautiful and I love the pics and the writing and the logo/graphic up top. I look forward to meeting you! :)
DeleteIt makes me feel like I'm there living it all over again! WHAT A WEEKEND! I had high hopes for VVC, and they were met and exceeded in every way. Add me to the list of people who had a searched bag from the TSA. I'm sure they were wishing they could steal my coconut bacon. Too bad for them! Anyway, it was so lovely meeting you!! I love all of the doodle highlights and can't wait to see more!
ReplyDeleteha ha!! This TSA thing is getting funnier and funnier! I wonder what the airport inspectors were thinking?? It really was fun to finally meet!
DeleteHmm. I had the TSA notice too. I have a girl crush on you after attending a couple of your sessions. Next time, I might be brave enough to introduce myself!
ReplyDeleteKay Lynn! Thank you for such a sweet comment! Next time let's meet for sure, so I can crush on you in return! :) I loved meeting new people so much, and yet I keep discovering all the wonderful people I *didn't* meet! Isn't it great that there are so many friendly vegans out there, just waiting for us to meet them?
DeleteAnother TSA inspection here! They even broke my suitcase by forcing a pair of leggings into the zipper. I hope they enjoyed seeing my dirty underwear! At least they didn't break my VVC mug like they did Joanna, or else THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN WORDS.
ReplyDeleteoh noes! they broke your suitcase?? :( I saw that Joanna's mug broke, but I didn't realize the TSA did it. THOSE BASTARDS! I hope she can get a replacement!
DeleteHey, what was with the TSA inspections??!! I got that note too! I thought it was maybe because we missed our flight and the bags were sitting around unclaimed, giving the TSA people something to do in the dead of night. But seeing how many others got inspected too, it must have been all that food being smuggled around the country. The sniffer dogs were probably going nuts. At least we all passed.
ReplyDelete