PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Calling all foodies! Snack Fest is coming to Portland Night Market in just under a month.
The event, organized by the same people who organize the Portland Night Market, will bring local food and drink vendors, live entertainment and interactive sessions all to one spot.
Emma Evans, along with her husband Dustin, dreamt up Snack Fest back in 2018 when she was carrying twins and experiencing pregnancy cravings. “I always wanted pasta or pizza and a pickle and a glass of milk and all of the things, but all at once,” she said. “We were just joking one night that we should create something like that for our other event.”
The couple’s other event, Portland Night Market, brings the Portland community together about six times a year and was founded in 2015. Evans used her contacts from PNM to find some of the vendors for Snack Fest, which officially began in 2019.
Although most vendors are based in the Portland metro area, the event will also host food and drink businesses from throughout the state, such as wineries in the Willamette Valley and an Oregon-based hazelnut farm.
Snack Fest was held earlier this year in March, and had its biggest turnout yet with over 11,000 attendees. Evans said this was the first Snack Fest since the beginning of the pandemic, and it was just a few weeks before the governor dropped the mask mandate.
“I think that food is what brings people together,” she said “It’s how we honor each other. It’s how we celebrate where we’re from, how we celebrate holidays. People were ready.”
Outside of the vendors who sell food and drink-related products, next month’s program will include new interactive events. For example, there will be cocktail classes that teach guests how to make their own Amaro and other Oregon cocktail staples, and even a 20-course Omakase offering from Portland’s well-known sushi chef Cody Auger.
General admission for the nonprofit event is free and open to all ages.
“There’s so many awesome food events throughout the country that are really expensive,” Evans said. “And not everybody has 2, 3, $400 to go to a food event. And so for us, it’s really important that it’s free and that that money is going right back into our community and supporting our food vendors.”
Vegan Alien, Cock-a-doodle Cookie, Fabo’s Tacos and Mikiko Mochi Donuts are just a few of the vendors with foods you can feast on at the festival.
Snack Fest is on 100 SE Alder Street from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14, and from 2 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15. They are still accepting applications from potential vendors.