The Veganizer Asian Market is June 1 in Portland

This week I received a press release from Waz Wu about the upcoming Veganizer Asian Market, a night market happening Sunday, June 1. It’s billed as “a first of its kind” to celebrate AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander) heritage and the vegan community together in Portland.

The vegan night market will benefit APANO, one of Oregon’s longest-standing Asian grassroots advocacy organizations, and its political, social, economic and cultural work.

The evening features over 50 small businesses that identify as Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander. They are restaurants and craft food makers, and well as businesses that sell art, home goods, accessories, and more.

The Veganizer Asian Market and Ticket Details

The Veganizer Asian Market will take place at the Redd on Salmon, which is one of the most well-known event spaces in the city. Tickets are $0 to $48 and can be purchased here. Further details on ticketing:

General Admission: 6:15pm entry time. Pay what you can (free, $5, or $10) online or at the door. Your contribution helps cover the costs of producing this event.

Priority Admission: 6pm entry time. Your $15 ticket includes the White Lotus Lion Dance performance and a chance to shop 50+ vendors before general admission ticket holders enter. Limited quantities available. 10% of ticket sales will benefit APANO.

VIP Admission: 5pm to 6pm. Your $45 or $48 ticket (pricing is $45 for NA and $48 for alcohol drinks) includes an exclusive welcome dish (VGF) by Chef Kasem Saengsawang of Farmhouse Kitchen; an exclusive welcome drink by Mixologist Nan Chaison of Libre (non-alcoholic or cocktail); special access to the Masafresh cooking demo with founder Trang Ho; and the limited Veganizer Asian Market tote bag designed by Veganizer’s own Waz Wu. Limited quantities available. 10% of ticket sales will benefit APANO.

“This market will be the largest Veganizer event to date with over 50 vendors,” said Waz Wu. “We’re proud to shine a spotlight on the intersection between Asian culture and veganism—a space that isn’t always highlighted in AANHPI heritage events.”

The Veganizer Asian Market Vendors

When Waz Wu puts together a vegan event, you can be sure it is going to be high quality. Here are some of the vegan vendors you’ll find at Veganizer Asian Market:

• Obon Shokudo, Jade Rabbit, Norah, Mirisata, which are full-time vegan.
• Pasar, Farmhouse Kitchen, Soen, Electrica, Sandy’s Myanmar Cuisine, and Yoonique Pho & Grill, which are vegan-friendly.
• OTA Tofu, Pan’s Mushroom Jerky, Sibeiho, HAB Sauce, and Tiffin Asha, which are local craft food makers, will be vending.
• Alley Mezza, a former food truck, is partnering with Palestinian chef Jawaher to serve Palestinian homestyle cooking.
• Hurry Back Curry, a new venture from the creator of the now-closed The Sudra, will also be there.

For a full list, head to the event website.

What Will Happen at the Veganizer Asian Market?

Chefs will focus on working in the realm of small plates, street food, and snacks. The educational chef demos will be by Masafresh, Obon Shokudo, and Jade Rabbit, and the chefs will offer tasty small bites following their demos in the Redd Community Kitchen.

The cocktail lounge side of things, Libre, will offer craft cocktails (and NA drinks) with Asian flavors and ingredients, as well as local beer and wine.

There will also be vendors offering art, home goods, florals, jewelry, skin care, and more. Of note here: “Though not all of the participating businesses are exclusively vegan, vendors will only be offering goods that are free of animal products at the market.”

As I mentioned earlier, their will be cultural performances by White Lotus Lion Dance, as well as some market vendors offering special on-site activations, such as gongfu tea service at Apa Kabar, live portraits by Tiny Space, and henna art by Shop Amrapali. 

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Asia, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander—Where in the World?

Some of us use these terms without a thought, but I realized as I was writing this that I don’t know enough. I’m going to share what these regions and countries are—Asia and the Pacific Island regions are massive. This is also in part to satisfy my inner geography nerd (I recommend checking out Worldle if you want to increase your geography knowledge).

Native Hawaiians

First, Native Hawaiians reside primarily in the state of Hawai’i, but also on the U.S. mainland, and other locations they want to be. The Hawaiian Islands are Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and Hawaiʻi.

Pacific Islanders

Pacific Islanders are defined as “three major subregions of Oceania (Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia) or any other island located in the Pacific Ocean.”

• Melanisia: Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, West Papua, and Maluku Islands. (7)
• Micronesia: Caroline Islands, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands, Kiribati, Kosrae, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Pohnpei, and Yap. (9)
• Polynesia: New Zealand, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Samoa and American Samoa, Tahiti, Tokelau, Niue, Cook Islands, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna. Note: Hawai’i is sometimes grouped in Polynesia, but for our purposes here it is distinct. (10)

Asia

A lot of people might think Asia just means China, Japan, and Korea, and maybe Thailand and Vietnam. To give you an idea of what “Asia” means, it is a region that includes cultures from Türkiye in the west to Indonesia in the east:

• East Asia: China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong (8)
• Southeast Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam (11)
• South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. (6)
• Central Asia: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (6)
• West Asia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. (18)
• Bonus Info: Russia is considered to be North Asia.

That’s 76 countries—77 if you count Russia—out of 195 countries on Earth that make up Hawai’i, the Pacific Islands, and Asia. Note: Not all these countries will be represented at the Veganizer event.

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This looks like a great time, and is just more proof that Portland is the place to be if you’re vegan, vegan-curious, or just love delicious food.

Veganizer Asian Market
Sunday, June 1, 2025
5pm to 10pm
Redd on Salmon, 831 SE Salmon Street, Portland
Purchase tickets here
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