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Mushroom walks into a bar.
Mushroom: Bartender I want a drink.
Bartender: Get outta here, I don’t serve mushrooms
Mushroom: Oh come on, I’m a fun-gi.
Oh my goodness, take a walk out your door and look around. It’s beginning to look a lot like mushrooms! Exciting to see the old standbys and the new “what the hell is that?
These are mushrooms?
Did you know
Fungi are:
* Genetically closer to humans than plants
* The largest life forms on earth
* How trees talk to each other
* Fungi can survive in outer space.
* No fungus, no bread, cheese, beer, or wine?
California is considered one of the most diverse states in the country for mushrooms, with estimates of 5 million+ different growing here! In the Bay Area, they grow when the rains return. A good season can run November – February.
We’ve Food Partied! a number of times about mushrooms and their magical properties…
Magic Mushrooms (2015)
King of Mushrooms, Todd Spanier, gives us a primer on foraging for mushrooms as we travel along with Chefs Lounge, Bay Area.
The Thrill of the Hunt (2015)
Come along on a weekend in Albion, CA (Mendocino county) as we foray with the Santa Cruz Fungus Federation.
Travelin’ Solo: Elk and Mendocino County (2023)
Who’s drinking mushroom tea? Red Conc and it’s anti-inflammatory properties were among the things we learned about on a hunt outside of Elk (Mendocino county).
Super good news is this coming weekend, the prized Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz hosts the return of their Fungus Fair – a three-day salute to all things mushrooms and this year is their 50th Anniversary celebration sponsored by POST – protecting open space for the benefit of all
The weekend hosts interesting talks from mushroom experts, a Kids Room, a taxonomy panel to ID the fungi YOU bring to the fair. They have baskets and baskets of freshy picked and ID’d crazy mushrooms. Some edible, most are not.
Mushroom swag is everywhere for sale, as well as wild mushroom delicacies, like these chocolates and candy cap mushroom cookies.
From their website:
The FFSC actively promotes the study of mushrooms and is dedicated to encouraging an avid interest in the fungal kingdom. We hunt mushrooms for scientific interest and for the table. We encourage a sense of wonder about one of the least understood segments of our global environment. We are fungiphiles, and you just might be one, too…
Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Hours:
January 12: 2:00-5:00 pm
January 13: 10:00 am-5:00 pm
January 14: 10:00 am-5:00 pm
LOCATION
London Nelson Community Center
301 Center St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
ADMISSION
Friday: $10
Saturday / Sunday: $15
Students & Seniors (60+): $10
Main Room Speakers (room 3): $5 add on
Kids under 12: free
photos by LSIC