Feast Portland 2016 Releases First Details

The first whispers of Feast 2016, Portland's huge four-day food party, came by way of the Oregonian today, and festival co-founder Mike Thelin described the event's fifth year as its "no-rerun year." The changes seem to mostly focus on new takes on familiar marquee events; for instance, the Sandwich Invitation will jump the river and land in the Rose Quarter Commons, the plaza beside the Moda Center with much-needed extra space, and the Night Market will shake its hips to a Latin theme rather than Asian.

But the most exciting change is a new event that sounds more or less like the usual Feast dinner series, only with caviar and white truffles piled on top, aka on steroids. Described by Thelin as "fun-sized," the dinners will likely step out of restaurants into larger spaces. Will these new fun-sized events be held in ballrooms and conference centers, parks and rooftops?

The O shared a few specifics on what to expect at these revamped dinners. Prepare for a fried chicken picnic with chefs Gabriel Rucker (Le Pigeon, Little Bird Bistro), Tommy Habetz (Bunk, Pizza Jerk), and Matt Jennings (Townsman), and the return of the wildly popular Franklin Barbecue-Stumptown Coffee, with famous pitmaster Aaron Franklin.

Tickets for Feast 2016 go on sale through the website May 20, with the full roster of events available on May 19. Just try to bite your tongue until then, because you'll want to be hungry September 15 to 18, when Feast again takes over the city.