50th Anniversary Santa Cruz Fungus Fair
Enter the World of Fungi!
Kingdom Fungi
3,000 – 4,000 species in California
Have fun learning in the field and in class
Meetings, Forays, Classes and Workshops
Fungiphile: an avid partisan of various things related to mushrooms and mycology
You just might be one…
Explore local mushrooms, both deadly and delicious, at the 50th Anniversary Santa Cruz Fungus Fair. View hundreds of regional species, have your mushroom finds identified, hear notable speakers, enjoy activities for kids young and old, visit our vendors, and sample delicious mushroomy treats during our three-day event.
Find out moreTo foster and expand, through education and by example, the understanding and appreciation of mycology and to assist the general public and related institutions to further this goal. And to always keep the “fun” in fungus!
Find out moreMushrooms fascinate us! We hunt for scientific interest and for the table, encouraging a sense of wonder regarding one of the least-understood segments of our environment. Monthly meetings, guided local and long-distance forays and identification classes.
LearnMushrooms: we find them all over. They are ubiquitous and mysterious, common and rare, delicious and sometimes deadly. Mushrooms are among the oldest living things on earth, and a significant theme and resource in almost every human culture over the past 10,000 years. Want to know more? You are already a fungiphile.
Join us
To aid in promoting education we offer full and partial scholarships to members needing financial aid or who express a deep interest in mycology, and students pursuing an interest in fungi at various educational institutions.
learn moreKid's Room activities include mushroom silk dyeing, clay sculpting, face painting, button art, even a treasure hunt! In fact, this room full of wonder also has examples of the different kinds of mushrooms that grow in the Bay Area, with someone to help explain what they are. Fun and education for the whole family.
Taste, touch and smell—kids love to use their senses to discover many of the varieties of mushrooms we have displayed in the Kid’s Room...
David Arora is an American mycologist and author. He has written several books and articles, the best known of which are Mushrooms Demystified andAll That the Rain Promises, and More...
The Fungus Fair has two main speaking venues: the main room (Room 3) is where you'll find our headliners and cooking demonstrations. Entry passes to the main room will be available outside the room 30 minutes prior to the scheduled presentation. A smaller lecture room (Room 1) down the hall has informative and educational talks about mushrooms, given by local, knowledgeable mycologists. The schedule for these rooms is listed below...
Hours: Friday 3:00 to 7:00 pm; Saturday/Sunday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
General Information: (831) 684-2275
Information for the media and the offical press release can be found in the press and media center.
WHEN:
|
11-13, January 2013 |
WHERE:
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Louden Nelson Community Center, 301 Center Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 |
The 39th Annual Fungus Fair
is presented by the
Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz
This month’s featured species turns up in the plastic bags of people attending the Fungus Fair perhaps more than any other fleshy fungus. Invariably, hordes of people will be lined up at the mushroom ID table with bags containing fresh to soggy specimens of Agaricus mushrooms they found “growing in my lawn. Are these edible? Will they poison my dog, cat, kids?”
This month we take a look at a little brown job, that is dear to my heart but probably not to most of yours. Galerina autumnalis is a small brown job, growing on well rotten logs and stumps during wet months. And as a small brown job, why do people care at all here, since for most people those are the mushrooms you do best to ignore? This species has been shown to contain the same toxins as that of Amanita phalloides, a.k.a. “the Death Cap”. That species has been associated with the most cases of deadly poisonings around the world. But in the case of G. autumnalis since it is a LBJ (little brown job), it is rarely the case of mushroom poisonings, since who wants to eat LBJs anyway? But it comes up positive in tests for amanita-toxins, and in lists of poisonous mushrooms it always makes the cut. And people are always fascinated with deadly things, now, aren't they?
It takes a sharp eye to find this little waxy cap, especially for those of us that are color-challenged! Hygrocybe miniata, or those in that group differing in minute ways, are very colorful little mushrooms that grow in a variety of habitats including rotting wood and moss, as these were. These were fresh since they are still quite red. As they age, they frequently fade to dull orange to yellow, which often leads to mis-identification when found in this state...
WHAT: