Monthly Archives: May 2013

05/28/13

(Vegan) Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland

Playlist: Rodrigo y Gabriela – Diablo Rojo

I don’t have a huge sweet-tooth, but it’s hard not to be a sucker for delicious vegan doughnuts. Thankfully, I know exactly where to go to satisfy that craving: Voodoo Doughnut in Portland, Oregon.

Voodoo Doughnut box

The notorious pink box, albeit a bit weathered by the rain.

I’ve been to Portland a handful of times since I moved to the Pacific Northwest and I’ve never gone down and not gone to Voodoo – it’s just part of what Portland is to me. So, naturally, I stopped by their hole-in-the-wall shop the day I arrived (I was there over the weekend for Vida Vegan Con 2013, a conference for Vegan bloggers – whadduya know?!).

Voodoo Doughnut vegan doughnuts shelf

Rainbow vegan shelf of awesomeness.

While many vegan doughnut-lovers are excited to discover that Voodoo Doughnut has raised vegan doughnuts, I prefer those that are not raised  – they have a sort of chewy, grainy texture that I fancy. I particularly like the one covered in frosting and crumbled peanut butter-flavored candy crumbles. (:

Voodoo Doughnut vegan doughnuts

Vegan doughnut selection: vegan apple fritter, mini vegan doughnut with peanut butter candy bar crumbled on top and, of course, a signature vegan raspberry jam-filled “voodoo doughnut”!

Vegan or not, if you’re in Portland (or any of their other location cities in Oregon), I definitely recommend you grab one of these rad pink boxes and fill it with doughnuty goodness!

-N

Eating a yummy vegan classic!

Eating a yummy vegan classic!

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05/22/13
space needle top - seattle 2

Dream Dance

Playlist: Nahko Bear (Medicine for the People) – Aloha Ke Akua

Imagine a place where artists are invited to paint as they please, musicians encouraged to play to their hearts’ content and where everyone celebrates warmth, happiness and love through dance. Welcome to Dream Dance.

Over the weekend, my parents took me to Dream Dance for the first time. They have been going every month for the past 6 or so months and, being in Vancouver, I was never able to join them until now.

It was awesome.

Going around the huge circle-shaped room, I noticed one area where people were welcome to sit and have tea, an area with a bunch of couches and pillows where people talked and cuddled, a spot for anyone to set up an easel and paint, a stage where attendees could play music and a huge wall that someone broadcasted his art onto (while he was making it on his laptop).

My favorite part was doing AcroYoga for the first time (which you can learn more about here). It was both relaxing and exhilarating to balance and take various poses – all while being held up by someone else’s hands and feet.

I also drummed for a bit on a djembe that someone had brought and left a note on the giant sacred-looking dream catcher that sat at one side of the room. By the end of the dance, it was filled with drawings, what people dream for and why they come to Dream Dance.

I think the best description of ecstatic dance I can think of is that I like to dance wildly around my room, in my underwear, to the pulse of the music (something my roommate would get a kick out of last year)…Now it seems I’ve found a bunch of other people who like to do that, too.

WHAT: Ecstatic dance to a combination of live and DJed trance music in a welcoming, non-judgmental environment.

WHERE: Om Culture yoga and dance studio in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle

WHEN: 3rd Saturday of each month

WHO: Smiley people of all ages (there were children running around and septuagenarians getting their groove on) and walks of life (from corporate-by-day to hippie-all-the-time)

COST: $5 for students; $9-$15 otherwise

If you’re in Seattle on a 3rd Saturday (or close enough to get here one month) and you enjoy free-spirited dancing, good music and art and friendly people, you should definitely check this out. Psssst… Let me know if you do, because I might be in the area and attending, too!

Love, Nirel

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05/2/13

Totem Park Celebrates Holi

Playlist: Santigold – L.E.S Artistes, Panjabi MC – Mundian to Bach Ke

Totem Celebrates Holi

Some friends from Haida and Salish, post-celebration.

HOLI IS A Hindu celebration of colors that takes place each spring. Participants in festivals commemorating Holi typically throw pigments at each other, resulting in a colorful mess and many smiling faces. This year, I was out of town for UBC’s massive Holi festival but was here to take part in the one we had at Totem Park Residence – which was a total blast! Definitely a fun and carefree way to de-stress before finals.

Love, Nirel

Totem Celebrates Holi

Feeling colorful (:

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