The second annual Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival (LAFW) kicked off this past week with 25,000+ people showing up to drink wine, eat fabulous food while supporting St. Vincent Meals on Wheels, who delivers life-saving meals and warm greetings to homebound and hungry seniors, disabled or seriously ill adults in the greater area. 
The inaugural event welcomed more than 15,000 attendees to sample the incomparable tastes from 140 celebrity chefs and nearly 300 acclaimed wineries.
Among more than 60 city-wide events, weekend highlights included the Red Carpet Premiere, where celebrities such as Randy Jackson and Kathy Griffin shared the spotlight with celebrity chefs like Daniel Boulud and Tim Love.
Also who showed up was the mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa, a Champagne and Caviar fete at the L’Ermitage hotel, two epic Grand Tastings, LIVE on the Plaza where the stage was shared by GRAMMY-winning artists Train and Wolfgang Puck, and a star-studded Auction Brunch at the newly re-opened Bel Air Hotel to cap the weekend.
Photo credits: JohnnyJet, the lucky dog who got to go this year :-). Last photo from the LAFW Website.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
