Fungi fanatics will soon descend on Whistler for the annual Fungus Among Us Mushroom Festival, hosted by the Whistler Naturalists.
The event is truly reciprocal, just like mushrooms’ relationship with the earth. Experts provide knowledge to attendees and volunteer their time at local schools, and by coming to the event, experts uncover new species and get to pursue science.
Whether attendees are mushroom masters, fungi photographers or psilocybin seekers, there’s plenty to learn on Oct. 18. and 19. The first day features talks with mushroom gurus at Legends Hotel in Creekside from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Presenters discuss a range of subjects, with beginner-friendly topics and forager perspectives, but Whistler Naturalists’ Bob Brett said their focus is the joy and ecological function of mushrooms.
“Our main focus is not on the on the foraging and edibility, as much as just the joy of mushrooms,” he said. There’ll be a talk on how they interact with old-growth forest, which people are becoming more and more familiar with.”
For mushrooms and old-growth forest connections, ecologist Andy MacKinnon is coming, and Kevin Trim will talk about extreme foraging.
“[Trim] is always fun, he’s an extreme forager who puts his life at risk to get favourite mushrooms,” Brett said.
Second dose of Fungus Among Us
Then, Saturday brings B.C.’s “best lead mushroom walks” to the resort, according to the Whistler Naturalists. Each group is paired with two leaders who set off in search of different species, with 22 experts on hand to lead the excursions from 8:45 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The event sells out each year, and participants need to leave collection baskets and dogs at home for the forest foray.
The emphasis is on information, and Brett said bringing foraging baskets ignores the overall purpose of the event.
“The emphasis is not on producing a dinner for you that night. It's on mushrooms in general. Obviously, [eating’s] the main draw for people getting into mushrooms. But it takes a little bit of the focus off utilitarianism,” he said.
For cooks in attendance, a forest-to-table lunch runs from 12:30 to 2 p.m. by Milestone’s Executive Chef, Bruce Worden, and it’s already sold out.
“This is a cooking and tasting show put on by somebody who is really great at it,” Brett said.
There’s a display table from 2:30 to 4 p.m., where fungi of the day are labelled and explained by experts. This event is by donation, with no tickets required.
“The mushroom display is always amazing, because there's at least 150 species that are displayed and labeled. There are experts who can describe them to people who are interested,” Brett said.
The display provides an opportunity for entry-level learning, where attendees can ask experts questions, and touch and smell the fungi without feeling overwhelmed by a lack of prior knowledge, according to Brett.
There’s also a fungi photo contest with four categories: people and fungi, spore-tacular shots, gill-ty pleasures and shrooms with a view. Images must be from the Sea to Sky corridor and taken between September and October 2024. The deadline for submissions is Monday, Oct. 12 at 5 p.mFor full contest guidelines, click here.
Tickets for the festival are available now.
