*DISCLAIMER*: I do not seek monetary benefits from neither Whirl Magazine, Edible Allegheny, nor the vendors at the Festival. I’m just a Friendly Pittsburgh Foodie (and Yogini), who enjoys sharing her foodie and cultural adventures! All photos were captured on an iPhone 4s, and were edited with Adobe Photoshop Extended CS4, and Instagram! 🙂

Since this was my second Whirl Fest since 2013 (couldn’t go last year, due to starting a new job), I was SUPER excited for this day! 😀 I asked a former colleague who works for Whirl (Lauren) when the Fest was back in February (lol); I booked my vacation day, right away at work, and I have anticipated this day ever since!

I started off the day at the Festival with some coffee & a Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Chip & Peanut Butter Cookie from Chateau Cafe & Cakery (located on the history North Side); delicious! The pastry was so good, you seriously couldn’t even tell it was Gluten-Free! Also, since I was in town (on my day off) by 8:15aam, I really needed some coffee!

I also visited Salud Juicery (locations in Sewickley & Shadyside- one of the vendors at the Festival/Expo), and ordered lemon & ginger shot to jumpstart my day!

Here is a photo from my first class: Ashtanga yoga, with Leta Koontz, owner and teacher at Schoolhouse Yoga (with Squirrel Hill, East Liberty & North Hills’ locations)! I really enjoyed Leta’s sense of humor & honesty, and her meticulous cueing style. After class, I had a lovely chat with her about yin yoga! 🙂

I was a bit scared to try Acro Yoga at first, but my teammates Jamie, Kelly & Jeff made me feel very comfortable. As you can see by the photos, I was already flying! I stayed for the full hour of the workshop! I really loved this class; Darcy did such a great job teaching (as always), and her assistants were wonderful as well! Now, I want to learn more about Acro Yoga! 😀

The third class was an Inspiring Power yoga class, lead by the lovely Stacey Vespazinai, of South Hills Power Yoga. ❤ Always a pleasure to be in the presence of one of my favorite yoga teachers!

I left Stacey’s class halfway through, so I could attend Laura Gorham-Huon’s Intro to the Primary Series Ashtanga Yoga class (which I LOVED)! This was an hour long; my friends Lindsey, Jamie & Melissa also joined me for class as well. You can really tell that Laura is living her passion, by teaching Ashtanga Yoga. She has studied Ashtanga Yoga for 300+ hours, with Tim Miller (the first American EVER, to be certified to teach Ashtanga yoga). Laura just opened up her studio (The Shala of Pittsburgh Ashtanga Yoga) in December 2014; I’ve taken two workshops, and attended one class there. Thanks to her studio, and Kino’s workshop at Schoolhouse Yoga, I think Ashtanga Yoga might just be my next yoga fix! 😉

There were so many great vendors that I visited throughout the day! A special shout-out goes to the gentlemen of Salud Juicery, and their Strawberry Lemonade, that kept me hydrated after each Ashtanga class! They were all very nice, an a pleasure to converse with as well!

I’ve heard so many good things about the Brassero Grill food cart- I knew that’s where I was stopping for lunch!

These Chorizo tacos, with corn tortillas, were INCREDIBLE! I definitely needed to fuel up, in between my first Ashtanga yoga class, and the Intro to Acro Yoga class. Thus, this was the perfect lunch! 🙂

My favorite vendor of the day was the Pittsburgh Juice Company, founded by the Owner of Bikram Yoga (Zeb Homison) and his sister! This is the mocha latte (vegan). made with cashew milk. I have never tried cashew milk before, and ended up loving it! I sipped on this coffee throughout the entire day, before, during and after classes!

I am wearing one of the three Soul Shine Strands purchases that I made that day! The owner’s name is Jackie; she is a yoga teacher, who trained with Dominique Ponko of Yoga Flow! The bracelet I bought is compromised of dark turquoise- this stone gives you courage, and helps you conquer fears. Since I will be attending the Fearless Warrior Conference (founded by my yoga teacher Hayley Worthman) in October, I thought this was the perfect purchase!

I also purchased this ADORABLE yoga tank top that says “Namaste N’AT: Pittsburgh Yogi” (that I plan on wearing to OMs in the Outfield), a matching sticker!

Another vendor I liked was About Time (protein pancakes and bars)! I sampled and purchases the chocolate chip protein pancakes- WOW! So good! A week later, I made all of the pancakes in one go (four medium sized ziplock bags to freeze, ladies and gentlemen), and have been enjoying these pancakes for breakfast ever since!

Lastly, I had great conversations with Chip and Kale (a Vegan catering service) and Aerie (who gave me a free tank top and tote)!

All in all, it was a WONDERFUL day, filled with: yoga, shopping, eating, and tasty beverages!

Three Cheers to good food, fabulous art, and cultural events!

-Friendly Pittsburgh Foodie

Whirl Magazine’s website

Whirl Magazine’s Facebook page

Whirl Magazine’s Twitter page

Whirl Magazine’s Instagram page