Event
MushFest 2024 Event Information
MushFest 2024 Event Information
Regular price
$80.00 USD
Regular price
Sale price
$80.00 USD
Unit price
per
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The North Texas Mycological Association is proud to present "MushFest 2024", the only Texas Mushroom Festival entirely focused on the mushrooms! MushFest 2024 will be centered around all aspects of mycology, including mushroom identification, cooking, and cultivation! This event will be held on 100 beautiful acres in Athens, Texas called the Learning Gardens, an educational center dedicated to teaching kids and adults about the forest and self-sustainable agriculture.
This year we have nearly cut prices for MushFest in half! We have carefully listened to all of the feedback we have received from our past participants and are trying to make the experience more affordable and enjoyable for those in attendance. Prices have been lowered because this year we are encouraging folks to bring food for the duration of their stay at the festival. We will have an outdoor, communal kitchen area that we hope we will be able to use collectively to cook meals together.
We are asking participants to bring something to share with fellow mycophiles for our Potluck dinner Friday night. All participants should also bring a chair or something to sit on as well as an ultraviolet flashlight, or UV light if you have one for our night time UV walks to find fluorescent mushrooms!
With all that being said, this event will be camping themed so you need to be prepared to spend 2-3 days outdoors if you purchased a weekend pass. There will be portable toilets on site, dish/hand washing station, and a shower is available by the lake. There is a building on the property near the lake which is off limits. All of the presentations will be held in the “Learning Center” and participants will receive a map of the property with additional information upon registration. Forecasts for the region in May consist of 80s to low 90 as the high, and traditionally in the 50s as a low. Please be prepared for rain to occur as May is one of our wettest months of the year. In the event of severe weather, we may end up canceling all, or portions, of the event. We will be keeping an eye on the forecast within the region and will be updating you all via e-mail if any changes to the plans occur.
The North Texas Mycological Association will be providing a 24 hour snack table and asking for donations to help feed folks over the weekend. We will be providing limited amounts of coffee, tea, lemonade, donuts & oatmeal for breakfast and we will be cooking up mushrooms from Mushroom Street Urban Farms for everyone! Even though some food and drinks are provided by the organization, ALL PARTICIPANTS should bring enough food and water for themselves for the duration of their stay and consider donating something to the kitchen so we can cook a communal meal and keep ticket prices affordable!
Members get the benefit of receiving both the cultivation and microscopy workshop for no additional cost. Both workshops are available for members only.
ALL SALES ARE FINAL!
NO REFUNDS UNLESS EVENT IS CANCELED.
KIDS 10 AND UNDER ARE FREE WITH PURCHASE OF AN ADULT PASS.
DOGS ARE ALLOWED AND MUST BE ON A LEASH AT ALL TIMES.
Presenters:
Dr. Amy Honan
Amy received her B.S. in Biochemistry from Western Colorado University in Gunnison, CO where she studied population genetics of the root pathogen Armillaria. She went on to San Francisco State University for her M.S. While there, she studied the saprophytic mushroom genus Tetrapyrgos from SE Asia. She completed her Ph.D. at University of Washington where she studied the ecology, evolution, and biogeography of the stalked puffball Tulostoma. She currently teaches Mycology and Fungal Ecology for Oregon State University. In addition, she is the co-founder of the Crested Butte Botanic Garden in Crested Butte, CO and is the curator of their fungal collection.
Presenting On:
‘A Fungal Odyssey: Unveiling the Mysteries of Mushroom Movement Through Space and Time’
Fungi employ a myriad of strategies to disperse and colonize new environments. Fungal dispersal is a crucial to life cycles, influences fungal distribution, genetic diversity, and drives adaptations to changing environmental conditions. Therefore, dispersal contributes to fungal ecological significance and success. We will explore how fungi move through and manipulate the environment to ensure their continued success.
Workshop
Introduction to Microscopy
Microscopy is an essential step in identifying mushrooms. This workshop will introduce participants to the wonders of microscopy. We’ll go through the parts of a microscope and their uses, and practice focusing on various microscopic fungal structures. We’ll then practice making wet mounts of our collections and using various stains and reagents commonly used in mushroom identification. This workshop is geared towards beginners and all levels are welcome to join!
Dr. Denis R. Benjamin
Denis R. Benjamin grew up in South Africa, emigrating to the Pacific Northwest in 1970. He practiced pediatric pathology at the children’s hospitals in Seattle, Washington and Fort Worth, Texas. He became an amateur mycologist soon after his arrival in the USA. He is a Research Associate at the Botanic Research Institute of Texas in Fort Worth. He was a consultant to the regional poison control center, a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Puget Sound Mycological Society and a past Chairman of the Toxicology Committee of the North American Mycological Association. He is frequent speaker at mushrooms clubs and societies. In addition to nearly 100 professional publications, he has contributed to the lay literature and mushroom magazines. He was a community Op/Ed writer for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. He is author of the landmark book on the health effects of mushrooms (Mushrooms: Poisons and Panaceas) and published a collection of mushroom foraging essays (Musings of a Mushroom Hunter: A Natural History of Foraging). He is also a watercolorist focusing on fungi and botanical art. He was recently featured in 360West Magazine – https://360westmagazine.com/features/2019/06/the-art-of-the-plant/
Alan Rockefeller
Alan is a mycologist specializing in DNA barcoding, field photography, and fungal microscopy. Committed to his cause, Alan has been studying fungal diversity for more than two decades, and since 2001 he has photographed more than 2,500 species of fungi. In order to discover new fungi, and spark interest in the hearts and minds of those new to the field, Alan regularly leads forays all over North America, including Mexico where he has been studying the mushroom diversity for 15 years and is consequently bilingual. Alan’s contributions to community science have been widespread, and his dedication to teaching thousands of people over several years how to extract and amplify the DNA of their mushroom finds for sequencing is remarkable, and remains unparalleled.
As of today, Alan has uploaded more than 700 of his own fungal DNA sequences to Genbank, and he is a co-author on several scientific papers, including publications documenting new species of bioluminescent Mycena and Psilocybe. Alan is also devoted to the art of macroscopic mushroom identification and legitimately spends hours each day identifying mushrooms for the general public. Amazingly, he has identified over 300,000 fungi on websites like iNaturalist, Mushroom Observer, and various Facebook Groups. Nothing short of a powerhouse, Alan Rockefeller is an authority on the leading edge of mycology, who is beloved by his community for the knowledge and value he contributes to the field.
Dr. Clark Ovrebo
Dr. Clark Ovrebo is a Professor of Biology at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. His interest is in the taxonomy and ecology of the higher fleshy fungi, mainly the mushroom-type fungi. His research interests include the genus Tricholoma in North and Central America, diversity of fungi of Oklahoma, southeast Texas and the Gulf Coast region, lowland fungi of Central and South America, the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, oak forests of Colombia and Costa Rica, and fungi of pre-montane forests of western Panama. He is co-scientific advisor for the Gulf South Mycological Society.
Spike Mikulski
Spike is the Executive Chef at Pot au Feu Bistro in Providence, Rhode Island where he gets to prepare & serve foraged ingredients you can’t find on any other menu in New England. Spike is Rhode Island’s first mushroom forager approved by the state to sell wild mushrooms commercially & teaches the state’s certification program once a year for those also interested in foraging mushrooms for local restaurants and markets.
Spike’s main focus with mushrooms over the past decade has resided in the study of Amanita where knowledge of the dangers found within the genus is not only useful in regards to culinary attributes, but also applicable when approached with accidental ingestion of toxic members in poisoning cases where an identification is needed before proceeding with treatment.
Spike can be found on Facebook assisting others with mushroom identification (primarily in the emergency poisons identification for plants and mushrooms group), Instagram where he highlights dishes he’s created, and on Youtube where his channel contains dozens of videos showing the identification traits of Amanita species found in New England.
Sebastian Tabibi
Sebastian Tabibi is an amateur chef, musician, and mycologist dedicated to raising awareness about the vital roles that fungi have in our ecosystem. He has a particular interest in understanding and unlocking the medicinal benefits of fungi and has been mapping out the fungal biodiversity located in the North Texas area and beyond since 2012. Sebastian is the Founder and President of the North Texas Mycological Association, the only non-profit organization dedicated to all things fungal serving 7.5 million North Texans. Prior to creating the North Texas Mycological Association, Sebastian founded the Facebook groups, Mushroom Identification Page and Mushroom Edibility & Discussion. He regularly assists in the emergency identification of Poison cases worldwide in the Facebook group, Poisons Help: Emergency Identification for Mushrooms & Plants, and can be seen leading forays at mushroom festivals from Colorado to the Gulf Coast.
Sebastian enjoys spending his free time being immersed in nature, making music, building community, fostering connection with the Earth, and practicing permaculture. He lives in a tiny home on 5 acres at the Tree of Life intentional community and is currently involved in creating an eco-village of self-sustainable properties along the Red River.
