Guest guest Posted June 26, 2008 Report Share Posted June 26, 2008 http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/portland_news/121390890610670.xml & coll=7 Thursday, June 26, 2008 Jessica Machado Special to The Oregonian The DJ is just warming up, and the mood is awkward at best. Unsure what to do at a formal dance, couples of varying ages, itchy in secondhand spandex and polyester, head for tables around the perimeter of the Secret Society ballroom in Northeast Portland. Eyes avoid the dance floor, vacant aside from a woman sporting a side ponytail and layered ruffles, hopping on one foot, then the other, to an obscure disco song. They congregate at the spread of Tofurky rolls and dairy-free cookies, picking at clusters of grapes and refilling cups of punch (unspiked). Then again, this is Portland's first vegan prom: The buffet should be the most popular destination. The June 13 party is the grand finale of city's inaugural Try Vegan Week, held to inform and encourage those interested in veganism. "The hope is if they try being vegan for a week and get support from people who've been vegans for a while, then they'll continue to do it when the week's over," says organizer Cari Beltane. She and husband David Agranoff recently moved to Portland and led this project to get more involved in the vegan community. Through advertisements on local message boards, more than 30 vegan veterans volunteered to "mentor" vegan newbies and participate in the week's 33 sponsored events, including tours of veggie grocery stores, a "baking without eggs" workshop and a lecture on "abolitionist veganism as a political statement." The prom fits Portland's reputation as one of the nation's most vegan-friendly cities. There's a vegan tattoo artist (he doesn't use ink made with glycerin or animal bones), a vegan bodybuilder (he travels the world giving lectures about bulking up without meat), a vegan blogger (she recently won a "Veg Bloggy" award), even a guy in a slimming black gown who has "vegan" tattooed in superhero font across his shaved head. "What can I say? I'm a spontaneous guy," says Daniel Wilson, the four-year vegan with the three-year-old stamp to prove it. Though chatty prom-goers are quick to express their love for animals (and that cheese is the hardest thing to give up), they seem just as eager to relive the '80s. Even the grandma in purple chiffon. At the first sugary pop beat of Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy" (and as more guests make pit stops at the ballroom's adjoining bar), the dance floor finally heats up, becoming a mess of bobbing heads and flailing arms with puffy sleeves. The robot, the worm, popping and locking resurface beneath the strobe lights. People move aside for a skinny break-dancing 20-year-old who never attended his own prom but is quickly making up for any lost attention. A battle of back spins and fancy footwork ensues as others -- a pony-tailed hippie type, a woman in a slinky minidress and the chiseled bodybuilder -- step into the circle and flex their groove thing. "I heard a comedian once say that vegans are the least fun people on the planet," Agranoff says. "I think we can prove that wrong here." Instead of crowning a prom queen, the organizers name Megan Brooker, a mini-Madonna in turquoise toile and black lace, the winner of the costume contest. Wilson is a runner-up. His tattoo is a reddish-blue blur as he politely pirouettes off the stage. Portland News: 503-221-8199; portland Peter vv Not happy with your email address? Get the one you really want - millions of new email addresses available now at Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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