Whether you’re an experienced mushroom forager looking to ask specific questions to experts, or new to the area and curious as to what fungus can be found in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, all are invited to the Gifford Pinchot Fungi Fest, scheduled to run from Friday, Oct. 24, to Sunday, Oct. 26.
Tickets start at $200 plus a fee for adults for a full weekend pass with access to all Fungi Fest events, including mycology and ecology experts speaking, mushroom growing workshops and foraging forays into Gifford Pinchot National Forest, scheduled wellness events and access to the vendor market, live music and the mushroom costume contest and dance party.
Special mushroom-themed “spor-y time” events will also be available for children.
Individual day passes are also available on Saturday and Sunday for $100 for adults, along with discounted options for students and children ages 3 to 12. To view ticket pricing options, visit https://tinyurl.com/yem47krs.
The festival is being organized by the Pinchot Partners Forest Collaborative and features multiple events throughout the weekend at four different locations in East Lewis County including:
• Longmire Springs Brewing, 112 Norman Way in Packwood
• Packwood Station, 13068 U.S. Highway 12 in Packwood
• Packwood Timberland Library, 109 Main St. W. in Packwood
• Mountain View Timberland Library, 10111 U.S. Highway 12 in Randle
The event schedule for the Gifford Pinchot Fungi Fest is as follows:
Friday, Oct. 24
• Registration begins at 3 p.m. at Longmire Springs Brewing, with attendees being invited to pick up their festival guides and mingle
• “Spor-y time” begins at 3 p.m. at the Packwood Timberland Library, featuring a mushroom-themed, educational story time for children
• Pinchot Partners Executive Director Janene Ritchie welcomes attendees at 5 p.m. at Longmire Springs Brewing, followed by the event’s first speaker, mycologist Alan Rockefeller, delivering a presentation titled “decoding the forest floor: the art of mushroom recognition”
• The opening night reception, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Longmire Springs Brewing, featuring a live music performance by folk rock music artist Shane Brown
Saturday, Oct. 25
• Registration opens at 8 a.m. at Longmire Springs Brewing
• North American Mycological Society member Junie B. Fungal begins speaking at 9 a.m. at Longmire Springs Brewing, delivering a presentation titled “foraging 101”
• Mushroom foraging forays groups begin hourly from 9 to 11 a.m., meeting at Longmire Springs Brewing before heading out into the forest. Each foray is three hours long, including travel time
• Certified forest bathing walk with Janene Ritchie, starting at 10 a.m. at Packwood Station
• Oregon Mycological Society members Sue Manning and Paul Whitney begin speaking at 11 a.m. at Packwood Station, first discussing how mushrooms reproduce before helping attendees create their own oyster mushroom grow bag
• The vendor market at Longmire Springs Brewing opens at noon
• Mushroom dyeing specialist Tess Barlow begins a yarn dyeing demonstration at 1 p.m. at Longmire Springs Brewing, with attendees getting to custom dye their own silk scarf for $15.
• The Angel Falls Sound Journey and mushroom foray at Angel Falls in Randle, starting at 2 p.m. and led by Sarah Richelle Starnes. Attendees interested will be provided with directions
• “Spor-y time” begins at 3 p.m. at the Mountain View Timberland Library, featuring a mushroom-themed, educational story time for children
• Mycologist Alan Rockefeller begins his second presentation at 3:30 p.m. at Packwood Station, titled “bioluminescent and fluorescent fungi”
• Kitsap Peninsula Mycological Society member Aaron Hilliard begins his presentation at 5 p.m. at Longmire Springs Brewing, titled “the mushrooms we love and the people behind them”
• The mushroom costume contest and live music begins at 6:30 p.m. at Longmire Springs Brewing, with music performed by the bluegrass Grateful Dead cover band The Return of Deadgrass
Sunday, Oct. 26
• Registration opens at 8 a.m. at Longmire Springs Brewing
• Fungi flow yoga begins at 9 a.m. at Longmire Springs Brewing, with the yoga session led by Sarah Richelle Starnes
• Mushroom foraging forays groups begin hourly, meeting at Packwood Station at 9 and 11 a.m. and at Longmire Springs Brewing at 10 a.m. before heading out into the forest. Each foray is three hours long, including travel time
• A special children’s mushroom foraging and scavenger hunt begins at 10:30 a.m. at Packwood Station
• A water-color painting workshop led by Domo Woodham begins at 11 a.m. at Longmire Springs Brewing
• Chef and Fungivore co-founder Zach Hunter begins a lobster mushroom cooking demonstration at noon at Packwood Station
• Fungivore co-founder Kimberly Hunter begins a “magic of mushroom dying” seminar at 2 p.m. at Longmire Springs Brewing
• Members of the Cascade Forest Conservancy will deliver the Fungi Fest’s final presentation at 4 p.m. at Longmire Springs Brewing, titled “rising from the ashes” looking at how mushrooms help forests recover after fires
For more information on the Gifford Pinchot Fungi Fest, visit the Pinchot Partner’s website at https://www.pinchotpartners.org/fungi-festival.
