Articles in this issue:

• Ndem Nkem: Featured at Northwest VEG program/potluck Sunday Sept 20
• VegFest Wrap-up: An Incredible Weekend
• Kinship screening: An uplifting documentary on animals and the people who care about them
• Tofurky Trot: New course - Help animal sanctuaries - Save the date - Thanksgiving morning
• Recipe of the Month: Apple Crisp with Date and Oat Crisp Topping
• Partner and Other Events of Interest

Local and Upcoming Events: Click here for details

• NW VEG Eastside Potluck with Ndem Nkem, Sunday, September 20, 2026, 5:00 PM-7:30 PM. Stone Tower SDA Church, 3010 NE Holladay St. Portland.(map)
• Vancouver Vegan Happy Hour at the Thai Orchid Restaurant, Wednesday, September 23, 5:30 PM-7:30 PM. 213 W 11th St, Vancouver, WA. (map) RSVP requested.
• Brunch at June Restaurant Sunday, September 27, 2026, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM. 4589 SW Watson Ave., Beaverton (map). RSVP requested
• NW VEG Westside Potluck Sunday, October 18, 2026 5:00 PM-7:30 PM. West Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 8470 SW Oleson Road, Portland (map) Program to be announced.

Ndem Nkem Featured at NW VEG Eastside Potluck/Program

Sunday, September 20, 2026

5:00 PM- 7:30 PM

Stone Tower SDA Church

3010 NE Holladay Street

Portland (map)

Powerlifter and stand-up comic Ndem Nkem will present 14 Years Vegan: Food, Fitness, and Finding Community following the Northwest VEG Eastside Potluck this Sunday, September 20. Ndem will be sharing with us how he became vegan, food and Portland’s vegan scene, powerlifting and his experience with Plant Built, and some of the myths around protein and being a vegan athlete. He will also talk about advocacy and how his approach has changed over the years. Social media and humor have become part of that, and he shows how there really isn’t one way to be or look vegan. It is sure to be an interesting talk/discussion. Ndem's presentation begins at 6:15 PM and you can also come to the potluck preceding his talk at 5:00 PM.

Northwest VegFest 2026

Thank you for an incredible weekend!

After years away, Northwest VegFest returned August 29–30 at the Wingspan Event & Conference Center in Hillsboro, bringing our community together for a weekend of vegan food, education, cooking demonstrations, speakers, local businesses, nonprofits, and connection.

And what a fabulous weekend it was!

VegFest 2026 issued more than 2,000 tickets, and welcomed over 100 vendors and exhibitors along with speakers, chefs, community organizations, and incredible volunteers who helped make the event possible.

"The vendors were great, and what I really enjoyed were the opportunities for networking and getting to know other vegans.”

Throughout the weekend, presentation rooms filled for speakers and their presentations, cooking demonstrations drew enthusiastic audiences, vendors introduced attendees to vegan foods and products, and families enjoyed activities provided by Vegan Scouts. Most importantly, VegFest created something we heard about again and again afterward: a sense of community.

"This was our first time attending a VegFest. We really enjoyed ourselves. It was so nice to be around so many like-minded people.”



Bringing VegFest back after such a long hiatus was a tremendous undertaking, and it would not have happened without the many people who contributed their time, skills, resources, and energy. Thank you to our volunteers, vendors, exhibitors, speakers, chefs, sponsors, community partners, planning team, and everyone who attended. Whether you worked a shift, staffed a booth, gave a presentation, demonstrated a recipe, helped behind the scenes, or simply came through the doors and enjoyed the weekend, we appreciate the fact that you were part of making VegFest 2026 happen.

Kinship Documentary Private Screening

October 10, 2026, 6:30 PM-8:30 PM

Downtown Portland

Those who attended our September 2025 potluck/program will remember Lucas Spiegel sharing with us preliminary footage of the documentary Kinship that he was filming. Lucas has now finished the documentary, and will be doing a private screening of the documentary.

Kinship explores all we have to gain by transforming our relationship with animals, rooted in the inspiring work being done in a dozen locations across five countries. Kinship presents an uplifting vision of what a future vegan world might look like, and how we might get there. (NO violent/gory animal exploitation footage is shown). There will be a Q&A afterward with Lucas, who is based here in Portland, and two people featured in the film who are visiting from Switzerland. Seating is very limited — email lucas@kinshipfilm.com to request an invite and receive the location of the screening.



The screening is free, but invite-only, and popcorn will be provided. More information at kinshipfilm.com.

Tofurky Trot 2026

New Course!

Registration Opening Soon

Save the Date - Thursday, November 26, 2026! What better way to start Thanksgiving Day than outside with like-minded people having fun on a 5K (3.1 miles) run/walk at your own pace, enjoying the fresh air and helping raise thousands of dollars for local animal sanctuaries.

We've outgrown Oaks Park, so this year we have an exciting new course on the Portland Waterfront. We start at OMSI and cross the Tilikum and Hawthorne bridges to finish back at OMSI.

This will be our 13th annual Tofurky Trot, an event that welcomes the whole family, including strollers and friendly pups. In the past three years we have raised more than $40,000 to benefit nine farm animal sanctuaries, and we hope to raise even more this year.

Tofurky Trot was voted the 4th Best Fun Run in the United States for the past two years in a national poll by USA Today.

Registration will open soon at

nwveg.org/tofurky-trot.

Quips and Quotes

“The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it.”

-Albert Einstein, in a tribute to cellist Pablo Casals in 1953

Have you been apple-picking? Here’s a good use for three pounds of your harvest. My apple crisp celebrates the tasty combination of apples and dates and avoids extra fats by baking the oat topping only for the last 20 minutes in the oven. I used to peel apples for crisps and apple pie, but I don’t anymore. The peels contain healthy antioxidants–don’t throw those in the compost bin! 

Apple Crisp with Date and Oat Crisp Topping

Partner and Other Events of Interest

• Saturday, September 19, 12:00 PM–5:00 PM. Flipside Market. 6550 N Interstate Avenue, Portland. (map) Check out their Instagram page.

• Sunday, September 20, 12:00 PM-2:30 PM and 3:00 PM-5:30 PM. Circle V Portland Vegan Food and Drink Festival. Castaway, 1900 NW 18th, Avenue, Portland. Tickets $125. More info - click here.

• Friday, September 25, 11:00 AM-12:00 PM. That Vegan Show on KBOO Radio, hosted by Melissa Lesniak. Talk show featuring guests and a wide range of vegan interests. More info and past recordings - click here.

• Monday, September 28, 6:30 PM–8:00 PM. ARCPDX Book Club - Discussing The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet by Leah Thomas. Online event. More info - click here.

• Sunday, October 11, 10:00 AM–2:00 PM. Lighthouse Sanctuary Work Party. Join ARCPDX and Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary at our next work party and every 2nd Sunday of each month! 36831 Richardson Gap Road, Scio, OR. (map) More info - click here.

Potluck Instructions: All Northwest VEG Potlucks

For a Northwest VEG potluck, please bring a plant-based (no meat, eggs, dairy, honey, or other animal products) main dish, salad, or dessert; a card listing its ingredients; and plates and utensils for your use. You can make the dish yourself or bring store-bought food. If you come alone, figure the amount to serve 4-6; increase the amount 4 servings for each additional person in your party/family. Northwest VEG potlucks are alcohol-free events.

Enjoy our supportive and friendly community exploring plant-based lifestyles.

Click here to join or renew. ~ Click here to donate.

We appreciate your support!