After a successful event last year in Sedona, Arizona, the world’s premier raw foods lifestyle event, the Raw Living Expo comes to Southern California. Taking place January 31 – February 2, 2014, this annual gathering of enlightened eating celebrating one of the fastest growing segments of the food marketplace, brings a global group of enthusiasts to the Hyatt Westlake Village for three days of panels, demos, meals and parties.
With over 40 presenters the Raw Living Expo features professional chef demos, keynotes, workshops, the Best of Raw Awards gala, receptions, after parties, films, a mini conference for raw entrepreneurs, and more. There will also be an exhibit hall with over 50 top raw and other companies sampling and vending.
A highlight of the Raw Living Expo’s opening day is the Best of Raw Awards, a “green carpet” raw celebrity gala event and formal dinner. The event is the annual highlight for the plant based raw foods movement. With a mission to “invite everyone to add more raw, organic plant food to their diet to increase health, decrease their eco footprint, and raise their spirits,” these ‘Rawscars’ as the awards are affectionately known, bring much deserved attention to the exciting personalities, companies and products in this billion dollar segment of the food industry. The event will feature a sit down dinner orchestrated and designed by noted raw chef Jillian Love who will be training the Hyatt’s staff in raw preparation specifically for this event.
Presenters include Victoria Boutenko, noted author, mother of “The Raw Food Familiy” and leader in the popularization of the “Green Smoothie;” world renowned Icelandic raw chef Solla Eiriksdottir who will be creating the After Party dinner; and longevity through raw expert, author and at 75 incredible example Mimi Kirk. Other noted speakers and chefs include: Dan “Life Regenerator” McDonald, Dave “Raw Food Trucker” Conrardy, Cherie Soria, David Rainoshek, Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram, Jeffrey Smith via Skype and many more.
Sponsoring exhibitors include Divine Organics, a Marin County based leader in sourcing and providing company owned, sustainable farm-grown superfoods and cutting edge wellness products including their award winning Chocolate Brittles made with certified organic, fair trade, raw “Rio Arriba” Cacao; Healthforce Nutritionals, the number one source for raw, vegan, bio-compatible nutritional superfoods; and Living Intentions who focus on great tasting, super healthy sprouted food.
General admission tickets to the event include access to workshops, speakers, networking events, chef demos, exhibitor areas, DJ dance parties, yoga, qi gong and fitness classes, ongoing movie screenings, and the Saturday night Best of Raw Online Awards Show. The early bird GA price (until October 31) is $197. All-inclusive tickets which also include the Awards Dinner Gala, the After Party Dinner and access to the Rawtrepenuers Business & Marketing workshops is only $397 until October 31. Tickets are available at http://www.rawlivingexpo.com/2014-tickets.
As far as the location goes, Raw Living Expo founder Laura Chiraya Fox notes, “We have carefully selected the gorgeous Hyatt Westlake Plaza Hotel as the gathering place for the Raw Living Community in 2014! The staff of this hotel is absolutely into our event and are pulling out all the stops to ensure we have a totally awesome experience! We listened to the suggestions of raw foods enthusiasts who attended the 2013 Raw Living Expo in Sedona, and have also selected this location to meet our attendees needs for an affordable and conveniently located venue. We recommend attendees make their reservations well in advance to ensure they can stay on site at the Raw Living Expo.”
The Hyatt has given the Raw Living Expo a great room rate of only $125 per night. Up to four guests can share a room. This spacious and elegant hotel is a Mediterranean Oasis just north of Los Angeles in Thousand Oaks, CA, conveniently located off the 101, it’s just a $27 shuttle ride from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and a $37 shuttle ride from Bob Hope Airport (BUR, in Burbank).