Hello, vegans on the Internet!

We have a few updates in the Vida Vegan Con universe.

First up, a big thank you and Mmmm, miso BBQ sauce to all who attended last weekend’s Exquisite Dinner at Bridgeport BrewPub and helped us raise some cash and awareness for Merciful Maiden Critter Haven. We’d love to throw future vegan dinners in the future—please get in touch if you have an idea for a location or if you’d like to get your restaurant involved. Don’t be surprised if we take this series on the road one day. More photos of the dishes at the bottom of the post.

Behind the scenes, we’ve been hard at work, exiting the early planning stages of May 2013′s Vida Vegan Con II in Portland, Oregon, reviewing applications from potential speakers and poring over countless Google docs. In case you missed it, the dates and location are up, and registration will open this summer.

In addition to grand plans for 2013′s Vida Vegan Con, we started thinking…we wanted even more content and share a never-ending travel bug, so why not pick the brains of the Pacific Northwest Silicon Forest vegans for something special?

As usual, stay tuned…for the Vida Vegan Tech Seminar this Fall—November 3, 2012, to be exact, in downtown Seattle, Washington, at the stunning Seattle Public Library. Registration will open soon! Get in touch if you’d like to be involved.

And just one more thing: All three organizers are proud to announce our involvement with this summer’s annual International Food Bloggers Conference, Foodista, which just so happens to be this August in Portland. All three conference organizers and bloggers, Janessa, Jess & Michele, will be holding a Niche Blogging talk, and we’re told Nutiva Organic will be providing a special vegan breakfast on Sunday. Plus, Foodista is  offering a special discount to all friends of Vida Vegan Con for the month of May, which can be found here.

With that, here’s more from our first Exquisite Dinner:

Spinach Dip 

The Pub Trio: Wookie Wings with hot sauce, Mac & Cheese, Red Bean Slider

Every day’s better with a Wookie Wing.

The Standard: Lentil Loaf with Miso BBQ sauce, rice flour-battered sweet potato fries, grilled asparagus

Dessert: Rich Chocolate Cake with Porter ganache and raspberry butterfly