For the Love of Fungi: A Full Sensory Experience!

On July 27, mid-Summer & full-on foraging season, we are hosting the 3rd annual: For the Love of Fungi Mushroom & Arts Festival!! Just a few words here to describe the format for this year... The morning will begin with group forays onsite and at near by woodland locations, guided by knowledgeable Mycologists. Early afternoon, we will all meet back at the main festival site (the Ashokan Center) with specimens and stories, to embark on a full sensory exploration. Discover new sounds, textures, flavors and more through different workshops and activities that focus on the many ways we use our senses to perceive the natural world. Brush up on your ID skills, learn to tissue culture, illustrate, or listen to the song of your favorite fungi! Cooking demos and tastings all day long. After sunset we will gather for a bonfire, short film series, music, and UV Foray, with camping and lodging options onsite! This an all ages event, we have two children focused activities already confirmed as well as interactive exhibits for them to explore their senses. Children 12 and under attend for $10 (please understand this is a cost that goes directly to the venue).

What to Expect:

Featured Contributors (More Announced Soon!):

Roberta Trentin - Listen to Fungi - Interactive Biosonification Station - All afternoon!

Justin Knaub - Concentrate, Breath, Heal - Build your own unique medicinal tincture using mushroom and botanical concentrates made by Justin and Cristian at MMM labs. Free w/ pre-registration (on tickets page).

Renee Baumann - Communal Basket Weaving - Learn traditional basketmaking techniques and work together to weave a beautiful, communal basket. See what we made last year, below, and check out more of Renee’s work!

Wendy Hollender - Learn to illustrate Fungi w/ the guidance and tips from this local rockstar botanical artist! Check out more of her work!

Craig Trester - Composting Workshop - Learn composting techniques to favor the plants you're trying to grow! Craigs knowledge and experience are astronomical and not to be missed!

Darren Johnson - Wine Cap Outdoor Mushroom Bed - get some hands on with outdoor mushroom cultivation in woodchip bed as Darren shares tips, techniques and tools you can use to create your own edible mushroom landscape!

Chris Baker - Newly released childrens book reading! - Chris creator of Chicory Naturalist shop in Kingston, NY, will offer a reading of her new children's book - "On a Mushroom Day"

Carol and Reed Rudowski - Build an Upcycled Paper "Fly Agaric" Mushroom Sculpture (for all ages). Join Artist Carol and her son Reed Rudowski for a crafty creative workshop, and go home with a beautiful upcycled paper mushroom sculpture for your desk or shelf!

Emma Gutierrez and Zack Despreaux - A Functional Mushroom Tea Ceremony - Mushrooms can truly improve our health in so many ways. Join Emma and Zac for a cup and discussion of how you can bring functional mushrooms more into your daily life!

Delicious Mushroom Tastings and Cooking Demos - All afternoon from several talented chefs including Page Moll of Hash in Stone Ridge, NY, Dave Wagner of Black Oak Mushrooms and Zack Despreaux of Maiden Hair Mushrooms at our Eat More Mushrooms Booth!

Mushroom Cultivation Panel and Q&A - Bring all your mushroom cultivation questions! Indoor, Outdoor, Gourmet, Medicinal, DIY or Commercial!

Demos and Hands-On: Outdoor Cultivation, DIY Indoor Home Cultivation, Tissue Culturing, Korean Natural Farming Techniques, Cooking with Mushrooms, ID Assistance and Microscopy, Illustrating Fungi, Interactive Exhibits…

Marketplace: A juried selection of artisans, working with Fungi and Fungi inspired goods.

Food: Kimchi Harvest Kitchen: Specializing in Korean field fresh dishes!

Raffle winners announced at 5pm (prizes listed below, tickets on ticket page)

Evening Activities: Music, Short Film Series, Bonfire, UV Foray, Camping under the stars onsite (380+ acres).

Camping: $16 per camper (must be booked ahead of time) - Contact Lisa Hurley at The Ashokan Center - retreats@ashokancenter.org (include phone number), or (845) 657-8333 option "0".

*No one will be turned away for lack of funds - Sliding Scale Tickets available upon request!

More info at Mycophilic.net

For the Love of Fungi 2023 Communal Basket (facilitated by Renee Baumann)

Raffle Prize 1: Cultivation Package – 1 full length ready to fruit Shiitake log (can fruit for 5+ years) plus a 1-hour consultation with Luke Sarrantonio (15+ years’ experience as a Mycologist and Cultivator). A chance to ask all your burning mushroom questions or get your backyard mushroom garden going!

Raffle Prize 2: Mushroom Lovers Goodie Bag – 1 mushroom print tote bag (heavyweight and durable, %100 cotton, made by Only Hearts), 1 Turkey Tail+Elderberry 2oz Tincture, 1 Donko Shiitake 2oz Tincture both made by Mycophilic, 1/2oz bag dried Log Grown Shiitake Caps from Eat Flowers Farm.

Raffle Prize 3: Foraging Kit – 1 specimen box (w/movable dividers), 1 folding mushroom knife with cleaning brush, 1 metal loud whistle (so you’ll never get lost in the woods again!), 1 Lion’s Mane 2oz Tincture, 1 ‘Fungi Fix Nature’s Bandage’ 2oz both made by Mycophilic, 1 ‘Edible Mushrooms of the Hudson Valley’ poster designed by Matt Schulze+Dina Kravstov.