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gordonzolaTwo of the people I like working with best in the cheese world are Sheana Davis and Lucy Saunders. I’ve worked with them on events before so when I was asked to help work on a beer and cheese party they were organizing I immediately agreed.
Unfortunately, even though Sheana had asked months ago about open time slots during the conference because she didn’t want the non-official party to compete with the official events, and even though she sent out invites far in advance, at the last minute the conference shifted the awards ceremony to the exact same time as the party. This meant that pretty much no cheesemakers would show up. At official events, cheesemakers are the backbone of a successful non-pretentious party. Dee Harley showed up briefly but that was it. It’s like asking actors to attend a competing party during the Academy Awards. Bummer.
Then the air conditioning at the Ecotrust Building stopped working about a half hour before the event. Ouch. This was during the week of Portland hitting 100 degrees every day. The cheese started to sweat. Our ice melted in minutes. Luckily, award-winning y/a novelist Sara Ryan and cartoonist Steve Lieber fielded my emergency phone call and brought 8 more bags of ice, saving the day.
Because of the timing it became less of a schmooze fest and more a party for friends and people I like in the cheese business. It actually made for a nice break from the more serious business chatter. Cheese in attendance: Teleme, Great Hill Blue, Carr Valley, Pure Luck, Sierra Nevada, Bellwether, Marin French Harley Farms, Widmer, Vella
Ljers who made appearances:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chloesha, reddawn, netphemera, arispurr, and magpiesf. I didn’t catch all the beers but the Rogue Morimoto Soba is a new favorite and the Russian River Brewery beers continue to amaze me. They might be the best in the country.
After clean up the elevator broke so we couldn’t load anything out. Portland really can’t handle the heat. I have to admit that this was a mixed blessing because this way I missed my chance to carry another bunch of beer cases around. It might have become a theme for the trip. I did manage to get a copy of Living on the Wedge from the film maker before she left the building.
Eventually I ended up at the Rogue Ale House where all the Pure Luck Dairy folks and other assorted Texans were. Because they were Texans they insisted it was "nice" outside and prevented attempts to move inside to find air conditioning. After a couple of beers and a salad for dinner I walked tochloesha’s house where we ate popsicles, lay next to the window in a failed attempt to catch a breeze, then drove around trying to find a fountain that was still pumping. We found none but did make it to some West Nile breeding ground art-swamp thing near the Ecotrust Building. It was stagnant, buggy and a little nasty, but I did appreciate her effort very much. She is a fabulous host. There’s just no place in Portland to go when it’s that hot.
Unfortunately, even though Sheana had asked months ago about open time slots during the conference because she didn’t want the non-official party to compete with the official events, and even though she sent out invites far in advance, at the last minute the conference shifted the awards ceremony to the exact same time as the party. This meant that pretty much no cheesemakers would show up. At official events, cheesemakers are the backbone of a successful non-pretentious party. Dee Harley showed up briefly but that was it. It’s like asking actors to attend a competing party during the Academy Awards. Bummer.
Then the air conditioning at the Ecotrust Building stopped working about a half hour before the event. Ouch. This was during the week of Portland hitting 100 degrees every day. The cheese started to sweat. Our ice melted in minutes. Luckily, award-winning y/a novelist Sara Ryan and cartoonist Steve Lieber fielded my emergency phone call and brought 8 more bags of ice, saving the day.
Because of the timing it became less of a schmooze fest and more a party for friends and people I like in the cheese business. It actually made for a nice break from the more serious business chatter. Cheese in attendance: Teleme, Great Hill Blue, Carr Valley, Pure Luck, Sierra Nevada, Bellwether, Marin French Harley Farms, Widmer, Vella
Ljers who made appearances:
chloesha, reddawn, netphemera, arispurr, and magpiesf. I didn’t catch all the beers but the Rogue Morimoto Soba is a new favorite and the Russian River Brewery beers continue to amaze me. They might be the best in the country.After clean up the elevator broke so we couldn’t load anything out. Portland really can’t handle the heat. I have to admit that this was a mixed blessing because this way I missed my chance to carry another bunch of beer cases around. It might have become a theme for the trip. I did manage to get a copy of Living on the Wedge from the film maker before she left the building.
Eventually I ended up at the Rogue Ale House where all the Pure Luck Dairy folks and other assorted Texans were. Because they were Texans they insisted it was "nice" outside and prevented attempts to move inside to find air conditioning. After a couple of beers and a salad for dinner I walked to
chloesha’s house where we ate popsicles, lay next to the window in a failed attempt to catch a breeze, then drove around trying to find a fountain that was still pumping. We found none but did make it to some West Nile breeding ground art-swamp thing near the Ecotrust Building. It was stagnant, buggy and a little nasty, but I did appreciate her effort very much. She is a fabulous host. There’s just no place in Portland to go when it’s that hot.
