Portland VegFest 2012 Oregon's largest plant-based food event! Saturday & Sunday, September 22 & 23 Oregon Convention Center - Exhibit Hall A 777 NE MLK, Jr. Blvd. Portland, OR 97232 Saturday & Sunday: 10am-6pm $6 admission/day, kids 10 and under free Bring your own bag to collect samples and info! Click here to download a $1 off coupon VegFest celebrates and promotes sustainable, compassionate and healthy food choices and lifestyles. This low-cost, fun and food-filled event welcomes everyone! VegFest features: Food Samples! Speakers & Classes Cooking Demonstrations Ask the Experts Family Activities Restaurants Non-profit organizations

Free samples of hundreds of different foods:

Speakers 2012 (more coming soon):

Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., received his B.A. from Yale University and his M.D. from Western Reserve University. In 1956, pulling the No. 6 oar as a member of the victorious United States rowing team, he was awarded a gold medal at the Olympic Games. He was trained as a surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic and at St. George's Hospital in London. In 1968, as an Army surgeon in Vietnam, he was awarded the Bronze Star. Dr. Esselstyn has been associated with the Cleveland Clinic since 1968. During that time, he has served as President of the Staff and as a member of the Board of Governors. He chaired the Clinic's Breast Cancer Task Force and headed its Section of Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery. Dr. Esselstyn and his wife, Ann Crile Esselstyn, have followed a plant-based diet for more than 26 years. Dr. Esselstyn presently directs the cardiovascular prevention and reversal program at The Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute.

Virginia Messina, RD Virginia Messina, MPH, RD, is a dietitian and public health nutritionist specializing in vegan nutrition. She has a degree in nutrition from Douglass College of Rutgers University and a master's degree in public health nutrition from the University of Michigan. Ginny publishes widely on topics related to vegan diets for both health professionals and the public. She has twice co-authored the American Dietetic Association's Position on Vegetarian Diets, and is co-author of a textbook on vegetarianism written for health professionals and nutrition students. She has worked as a dietitian for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, taught nutrition to dietetics students at the university level, and was the director of nutrition services for a medical clinic serving 50,000 patients at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Ginny serves on advisory boards to PCRM and the Vegetarian Resource Group.

Milton Mills, MD Milton Mills, MD, is Associate Director of Preventive Medicine for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and works as a Critical Care physician with Fairfax Hospital in Virginia and United Medical Center in Washington DC. His experience specializing in Internal Medicine and HIV disease, and in the relationship between nutrition and chronic diseases has made him extensively knowledgeable about the unique health care needs of minorities, the challenges of practicing medicine in inner cities, and the special medical and nutritional requirements of HIV+ and AIDS patients. Dr. Mills graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine, serving as student body president of the medical school and Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor of the Stanford Medical School newspaper. He did his internship at the University of California-San Francisco, and his residency at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

This event will need 300+ volunteers to make it an even greater success than last year's VegFest. Want to help out with VegFest 2012? Please email volunteer@nwveg.org