32nd Annual Bite of Portland Benefits Special Olympics and Crowns Top Chef From Ashland
Portland, August 9th, 2015. From the coast to the Cascades and canyons, the Bite of Oregon is a celebration of Oregon’s bounty and people. More than 25 breweries, wineries, distilleries, cideries, and distilleries poured craft beverages to help quench thirsts. Tom McCall Waterfront Park was packed with over 50,000 people during the three-day event, Oregon’s top chefs, best wineries, breweries, ciders-makers and distilleries, along with celebrity chef demonstrations and challenges, like the Iron Chef competition, were featured. (photo credit, Peter Van Houten Photography)
This year’s Iron Chef winner was James Williams from Omar’s Restaurant in Ashland. The winning dish included braised pork jowl, served with bacon corn puree, along with chili honey-glazed bacon.
All proceeds benefit Special Olympic Oregon. (This photo is from the 2015 summer state games.)
“Eat” the Oregon Bounty Chef’s table returned. In true farm-to-festival spirit, chef’s from around the state partnered with Oregon’s various agriculture commissions to prepare locally-sourced, gourmet bites for $4.
This year, the Chef’s table expanded and featured many Oregon Agricultural Commissions, including blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, potato, seafood and beef. Busy volunteers passes out the goodies.
SE Wine Collective, a unique urban winery in Portland, returned as the official host of the Wine Bar. Local wines were also honored.
Ice cream was a favorite with kids and their parents. The Bite offered a variety of kid-friendly activities including a stage with hourly interactive performances, puppeteers, arts and crafts projects and face painting.
Special Olympics Oregon provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children, youth and adults living with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes, and the community.
Special Olympics Oregon serves more than 12,000 participants each year with intellectual disabilities, serving the largest disability population in the state. Every day, every month and every year, our programs and services provide our constituents with immense opportunities in life, yet nearly 100,000 individuals could still benefit from participating in Special Olympics Oregon programs.
Still growing, Special Olympics Oregon is efficiently expanding programs to get closer and closer to serving every individual with intellectual disabilities that qualifies to participate in Special Olympics. Our vision is to help bring all persons with intellectual disabilities into the larger society under conditions whereby they are accepted, respected and given the chance to become useful and productive citizens.
