EeeeeEEeeeeEEEEeee I can’t wait! It’s only one month until Foodie Christmas, otherwise known as the biggest and greatest food festival Portland offers, Feast Portland! Many events sold out in the first day (especially the smaller events), but I snagged tickets to the Filipino Twist dinner using my Feast Ticket Purchase Tips and Strategy which I shared a few days before tickets went on sale. I’ll also be at Night Market, the Grand Tasting, and the Go Get You Some Picnic. Not to worry: there are still some events that you can get into!

Feast 2016 Tickets still available

It’s not too late! Check out Feast official social media accounts like the Feast Portland Facebok page to enter some of the various giveaways that can yield you some tickets. Some Feast 2016 Tickets still available for purchase also include

1. The Sandwich Invitational on Thursday September 15th is the kickoff event for Feast, and this year if you buy 2 tickets or more you will get a free one year subscription to Portland Monthly. Update: Now Sold Out This event conflicts with my Filipino Twist dinner so I won’t be attending, but I always have thought this was a huge value of an event because for $85 you get 14 sandwiches (or more, if you can get through the 14 first…), so you will be completely stuffed. And as with all the Feast events, all the liquid libations are included. This year they have moved the venue to the Rose Quarter Commons for more space.
   
   Photo by Aubrie LeGault for Feast Portland Widmer Sandwich Invitational 2015, All rights reserved
2. If this is your first time at Feast, I always recommend the Grand Tasting at Pioneer Courthouse Square. You can still get tickets still to the Friday (the Saturday event is already sold out!), and it offers four hours of all you can sample of Oregon food and drink from various local producers for only $60. Each booth’s representatives are incredibly knowledgable about explaining how they make what they do and giving you more back story on the process and food/drink item.
   
   During your sampling you can watch shows on the stage like a mini live Food Network channel! Sampling for hours, talking to the vendors, a mini food show- what a bargain!
   
3. A newly added event for Saturday September 16 is a drink crawl! Cocktail Crawl: Drink Like a Pro offers a progressive drinking journey from 1-4 PM visiting cocktail havens well respected by those in the food and drink industry for $75 while being schooled on bartender secrets for all the drinks.
4. The Drink Tank events I think are one of the hidden secrets of Feast. I have always enjoyed them – for the price you get multiple glasses of the drink being highlighted, be it beer or wine or whiskey or whatever – as well as a great mini-class learning more about that beverage while sitting al fresco in the Portland Art Museum’s Sculpture Hall.
   
   Here are a few photos to give you an idea what the Drink Tank events were like last year that were similar to ones this year…  have you had your continuing education yet this year? This qualifies right?
   
   And, the cost of the Drink Tank event is a bargain- ranging from $35 – $55. The drinks came with snacks you share with your tablemates to cleanse your palate as well between sips. Each seat has a flight of what seemed to always be five drinks.
   
   The tickets for Drink Tank events still available for Feast 2016 include
   • Meet The Press, Friday September 15 12-1 PM is $35 and highlights cider
     
   • Washington Wines on The Rise on Friday September 15 from 2-3 PM is $55 and highlights the variety of red wines coming from our neighbor state to the north.
     
   • Aperitifs Ascendant: Understanding Vermouth, Quinquinas and Aperitif Wines, Friday September 15 from 4-5 PM is $45 to learn about various aperitifs
     
   • Wines Vs. Beer: This Time It’s Personal Saturday September 16 4-5 PM pairs beer and wine with cheese from Steve Jones of The Cheese Bar to see who will make the better pairing for mere $45
     

As always, remember that the reason why we feast is to fight against childhood hunger, specifically raising money for Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon  with a concentrated effort on their campaign to raise awareness around school breakfast participation in Oregon schools. Over the last four years, Feast has raised over $230,000 to help end childhood hunger. You can help support by purchasing a ticket to Feast Portland, and you can also make an additional donation on their ticket check out page.

Feast Items Outside Feast Events

If you can’t attend Feast, there are still other ways you can feast and help this worthy cause. Since this is Feast’s Fifth year, they are upping the efforts and the feasting with #FeastFab5 Collaborations where they partner a few local chefs and producers to create special items. Plus, the makers will be donating 10% of net sales to Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon.

These items will be available from August 1^st – September 18th, 2016 online and in select retail locations. The yummies for a good cause include

• Xocolatl de Davíd – Chocolate collaborations with:
  • Elias Cairo from Olympia Provisions (Portland) – “Swiss Picnic”
  • Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue (Austin) – “Texas Barbecue”
  • Jessica Koslow of Sqirl (LA) – “Slice Crispies”
• QUIN – Oregon Cherry Sparkling Candy, little pillows of candy that kind of sparkles with a tiny effervescence. It’s cherry flavored and contains Oregon cherries, to be more purely Oregon, cherry flavored and a bit fizzy and sparkling but not a sour candy. Available at their Union Way shop and also online.
  
• Pok Pok Som – featuring Oregon Strawberry and Thai Basil Som. The Strawberry one is featured in this cocktail I enjoyed recently Strawberry Fields cocktail featuring Pok Pok Som Strawberry Drinking Vinegar with some Aviation Gin, Aperol, Fresh Lemon, and Mint created by Lindsay Druhot
  
• Olympia Provisions and Pok Pok – featuring a special sausage collaboration between Elias Cairo and Andy Ricker a spicy Nothern Thai (of course) Sai Ua that you can purchase at this link.
  

  All types of yum! @eliascairo of @oppdx and @pawkhrua of @pokpokpdx teamed up to create this flavor-filled, traditional Thai grilling sausage for #FeastFab5‬! Deeply rooted in the culture of Northern Thailand, this amazing new product features lemongrass, galangal, and a unique blend of spices. Big thanks for making this delicious item to celebrate our fifth birthday! ‪#FeastPDX‬ The #Feastfab5 makers will be donating 10% of net sales to @hunger_free_or! Click our bio link for more deetz.

  A photo posted by Feast Portland (@feastportland) on Aug 6, 2016 at 6:21pm PDT

Then, during actual Feast week, two additional makers get in with their products and donating to fight childhood hunger:

• Wiz Bang Bar from Salt & Straw – featuring a special flavor during the week of Feast at their retail location.
• Stumptown Coffee Roasters – featuring a special cold brew soda made in-house during the week of Feast in Portland retail cafes, except the Annex.
  

Are you excited for Feast? What events are you going to or wish you were going to? Which of the special #FeastFab5 items do you think you might look for?

Disclosure: I was granted a Bloggers Pass for Feast Portland 2016, and asked to help promote Feast but I am not otherwise being compensated. I also purchased my own tickets to some Feast events in addition to be given access to a select few events with the Bloggers Pass. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own, and I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences regardless of whether they were complimentary or not.