Each Autumn as the winds of change bring a mix of arctic cool and equatorial warmth, the rains begin to fall on our Siuslaw forest; one of the single greatest carbon sequestration reserves on earth. With the rain, an emergence occurs of immense diversity and beauty as our mycelial world blooms.
Get to know a Yellow Foot from a Bolete, An Elvin Saddle from Witches Butter. From fun to funky, from slippery to chunky, mushrooms are on the cutting edge of scientific discovery and rooted in the history of life itself. Mushrooms - found freely expressing themselves here in the Siuslaw Forest, include some of the world’s most delectable edibles, as well as a few that you are best to avoid eating all together. (Though variety might be the spice of life, some mushrooms can cause upset stomachs and a few can be deadly.) Knowledge can be your friend, knowing the difference can secure delight.
Join us to learn the difference, gather some new knowledge to expand your culinary adventures and learn how we can fuse a growing understanding of our forest floor with increased sensitivity. To expand your knowledge of mushrooms and mingle with other mushroom lovers and mycologists, there's no better event than the Yachats Mushroom Festival, happening Friday, Oct. 18, through Sunday, Oct. 20.
What is the largest organism on earth? A Mushroom. What is on the forefront of space colonization? You guessed it! Mushrooms. What can be found in new breakthroughs in healing, shoe fabrics, building materials, food products, plastics removal, and toxic bio remediation? Yep, Mushrooms again! Mushrooms are vitally connected to both our futures as well as being an important part of our ecosystems.
Come to gently walk amongst the giants, guided by passionate and scientific ecologists as together we learn and celebrate this diversity that makes our forests vital.
The Yachats Mushroom Festival kicks off with a mushroom themed reception with drinks and appetizers on Friday night at the Yachats Commons with a presentation by our keynote speaker Christian Schwarz.
Both Saturday and Sunday will see a full roster of speakers in the commons and other locations throughout town. Meanwhile, the All Mushroom Things - Artists, Cultivators, Creators, Gatherers Fair will take place in the Yachats Commons Multi-Purpose Room.
Members of the Lincoln County Mycological Society will be on hand through the event, with large displays of regional mushrooms while other regional mycologists will be available to help identify mushrooms and fungi in the Mushroom Identification Hall. There will be identification books for sale, and other displays for identifying mushrooms. Visitors are encouraged to bring in their own "finds" from their yards and local forests for identification and to add to the displays.
Restaurants throughout the village will feature mushroom specialty dishes offered from our local area forests. All festival walks are led by qualified mycologists, forest ecologists and naturalists, one to two hours long and are held on safe, easy trails in the spectacular coastal mature and old-growth forest at Cape Perpetua and the Gerdemann Botanical Preserve.
The popular Mushroom Treasure Hunt will continue this year - where glass and porcelain mushrooms created by local artists Rasa Clay Works and Holmes Birdwell Glass will be hidden by trail gnomes at the beaches and forests through March 2. Check in each Saturday morning for where they set the mushrooms as clues will be at www.YachatsTreasureHunt.com and on @visit.yachats Instagram.
