What to Know About Feast 2019

Feast Portland, the Northwest’s biggest food and drink event, is returning in June, and as usual, the festival will feature some all-star chefs, the return of favorite events, and, as The Oregonian first reported, some serious changes. The real-deal lineup doesn’t come out until June 7, but there are still some major developments to keep in the back pocket before the big ticket drop approaches. Below, find the main, juicy tidbits to know until then.

When it is

Feast will kick off on Thursday, September 12, and run through Sunday, September 15. This year will feature more than 50 events, including the five main events, drink tanks, fun-sized events, classes, and dinners.

The big events’ themes

This year’s inaugural “versus” event theme will be “East Coast versus West Coast.” Clearly, the victory will go to the latter; it’s called the Best Coast for a reason, after all. The Night Market will feature cuisine inspired by Southeast Asia, and this year’s Smoked will have a “Wet Hot American Summer” theme.

Who will be there

As usual, Feast features an all-star mix of local and visiting chefs cooking for main events, parties, dinners, and classes. Aaron Franklin from Austin’s Franklin BBQ will return to host his Franklin BBQ and Friends event, chefs including Portland’s Matt Vicedomini (Matt’s BBQ) and Rodney Muirhead (Podnah’s Pit) as well as Chris Shepherd of Houston’s One Fifth. A whole host of other visiting chefs include Chicago’s Abe Conlon (Fat Rice), Nite Yun of Nyum Bai in Oakland, and Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins of El Jardin in San Diego.

Regular attendees will see familiar Portland faces, including Maya Lovelace of the recently opened Yonder, Carlo Lamagna of the soon-to-open Magna, Pizza Jerk’s Tommy Habetz, Departure’s Gregory Gourdet, Nong Poonsukwattana of Nong’s Khao Man Gai, and Le Pigeon’s Gabriel Rucker, who will be once again participating at the Zero Proof chef dinner. They’ll be joined by dozens of visiting and local chefs, as well as farmers, winemakers, crafters, and others.

There will be “before parties”

Portland’s health-conscious and sober chefs are having even more influence over the event, as well: Balancing out the after (or after-after, or after-after-after) parties, Feast is going to start throwing “before parties” like guided yoga, meditation, and trail runs. There are some more new events coming down the line, as well, including the first all-ages events with Tillamook.

The Grand Tasting is switching up

As always, the Feast team is tweaking things, and the largest change is happening to the Grand Tasting. The two-day long event has historically taken place at Pioneer Courthouse Square, and sees numerous chefs serving up bites, while wineries and breweries from all over pour tastes and a stage features speakers and cooking demonstrations. This year, the team has renamed it The Big Feast, moving it to the Waterfront and switching it from Friday and Saturday to Saturday and Sunday.

The new venue will cut down on crowding, as the space is three times larger, but tickets are only increasing by about a quarter, giving it the feel of the other main events like Smoked and the Night Market. While it’s on Sunday, the hours will open overlap with Brunch Village by only a bit, so guests can make a whole day of it or just go to one or the other. Brunch Village itself will be moving from Pioneer Square to the Redd on Salmon Street, a recently developed event space from the Ecotrust.

When do I get to know everything?

The full schedule for Feast Portland 2019 goes online on Thursday, June 6, and tickets go on sale the next day, Friday June 7, at 9 a.m. PST. Anyone interested in the hotter events should be ready to jump on it immediately; previous years have seen events like Franklin BBQ and Friends sell out within literal minutes.

• Feast Portland [Official]
• Feast Portland announces 2019 lineup of chefs, events [The O]