When I was asked to give the keynote speech at Green Festival – America’s largest and longest-running sustainability and green living event – I was sooooo stoked. The fact that this particular Green Festival was in Portland, Oregon had me even more excited! I have been wanting to visit Portland forever!! It was on my list of places I thought about moving when I first road tripped from NYC 4 years ago.
The Portland Green Festival took place at the Oregon Convention Center December 11-13th. The expo featured hundreds of green exhibitors, sponsors, partners and nonprofit allies showcasing sustainable products as well as new innovative ways to save money and protect natural resources.
Not only am I a huuuuge Portlandia fan, one of my very besties from college just moved there and I promised her I’d visit! So this all seemed so meant to be!
I packed up 2 nights worth of clothes with my speech in hand and headed out!
Portland was pretty rainy and grey, but really cool and beautiful. I’m used to this kind of weather as a native New Yorker, and I absolutely loved the atmosphere, the culture, the friendly people and of course the incredible food! It was fun to be there during a weekend.
I really couldn’t get enough of this wonderful, quirky city and I really wish I was able to stay for more than one full day. I’ll definitely be back in the summer!
I was so excited to deliver my speech at Green Festival because the venue is so receptive to the message of it. The hour long speech on How to Heal from the Inside, Out is based on my book Cured by Nature (did you get your freebies yet, by the way? Get on that whiz!)
There’s a little video of my speech highlights if you fancy some motivation today:
The response after my speech was amazing! Many people came up to me after – some from different countries around the world – to tell me how much my story and message meant to them and changed their lives. Even a woman in her 60’s with cancer told me with tears that I had changed her life and reminded her that her journey was significant. I asked her name (Ann – my mother’s name!) and gave her the biggest hugs, thanking her right back.
I am so excited to be able to do this with my life and so happy that others find it helpful and meaningful. I loved the expo, really enjoyed the interesting venue and it was Portland’s first ever Green Festival event, which was exciting to be a part of! I loved meeting and being introduced to so many healthy people and brands and I’m excited to speak again soon. 🙂 I also got to visit my college bestie which was an amazing bonus!
It was a great trip and I feel so lucky to do this work!
See you next time, Green Festival! Thanks again for having me!❤️
With Love,
Tara