This year’s seventh annual Sunshine Coast Mushroom Festival is being held Oct. 16 to 18, with events up and down the Sunshine Coast. Hosted by the Society for Hunting, Recognition and Observation of Mushrooms (SHROOM), it promises to be another biologically diverse and fascinating event for both locals and visitors.
From mushroom identification tables to information and demonstrations about using mushrooms in cooking, fabric and yarn dyeing, and the medical powers of the fungal world, Shroomfest is a great way to get acquainted with the mushrooms and fungi of the Pacific Northwest. Knowledgeable expert foragers will be on hand to identify mushrooms brought in by festival visitors and to talk about the basics of mushrooming, making this event one of the safest ways to introduce yourself to the fascinating leisure activity and the world-class science behind it. There will also be cooking demos, vendors with unique mushroom products, kids activities and many fabulous door and raffle prizes.
This year’s guest is renowned forager and chef Langdon Cook. For Cook, a walk in the woods isn’t much different from a walk through the produce section of a supermarket. He’s a writer, blogger, all-round outdoorsy type and author of The Mushroom Hunters: On the Trail of Underground America and Fat of the Land: Adventures of a 21st Century Forager. His books are rich with the science and lore of edible fungi – from seductive chanterelles to exotic porcini. For more information about Cook, see langdoncook.com
For members of the Mushroom Society, there will be a members only foray with Cook on Sunday, Oct. 18 for $30 per person (plus your SHROOM membership). Pre-registration is required at scshroom.org/events. There are also two Cook presentations: on Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. at Davis Bay Community Hall, and on Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. at the Botanical Gardens in West Sechelt. These two presentations are open to all, with $10 tickets at the doors.
A hotly anticipated part of the Mushroom Festival is the mushroom themed delicacies offer by local restaurants. This year, there are six participating restaurants: Bull Bistro and Bar (Gibsons), ChasterTs (Gibsons), Emelless Madeira Bistro (Madeira Park), The Gumboot Café (Roberts Creek), The Painted Boat (Madeira Park), and Ruby Lake Restaurant (Madeira Park). Call or check out their websites for their tempting menus or follow the links on scshroom.org
The Mushroom Show runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Community Hall in Madeira Park, with a cost of $3 per person (SHROOM members free). Check out the advantages for members at scshroom.org
