Telluride Mushroom Fest: Kick-off Thursday

13 Aug Telluride Mushroom Fest: Kick-off Thursday

Chef’s Cook Off Street Party, Fungi Farm-to-Table Celebration, Myco-remediation Course

The Telluride Mushroom Festival (TMF) kicks off its 32nd annual four-day festival this Thursday, August 15 and continues through Sunday August, 18.

Telluride Mushroom Festival offers something for everyone: guided mushroom forays, presentations on cultivation, remediation, and the cultural impact of mushrooms, and culinary experiences hosted by nationally renowned chefs. This year’s festival theme is “fungi as medicine” for the planet and its people, the perfect context to reach an understanding of all the amazing aspects of mycology: food, medicine, and remediation.

The keynote speaker of Telluride Mushroom Festival 2013 is Gary Lincoff, an author whose innovative ideas have made him a mycology icon. His Saturday event about “Accessing the Sacred in a Profane World,” will be an event not to miss.

Ja Schindler, founder of Fungi for the People, will talk about using native fungi to degrade toxins and develop soils.

Robert Rogers, expert on Fungal Medicine in Indigenous Cultures, will bridge the gap between psycho-spirituality and science.

Each day will also feature guided mushroom forays (at 6:00, 8:00, and 10:30 a.m.), free coffee talks (8:00 a.m.) yoga (8:00 a.m.), and special culinary events.

This year’s benefit dinner, A Fungi Farm-to-Table Celebration, takes place on Wednesday, August 14, 6:30 p.m. Chef Blakely Stein of Lady Love Food hosts an intimate celebration of local, seasonal foods, and cocktails. The event will feature exclusive edible and medicinal mushroom tastings, a cooking demonstration, cocktail hour with appetizers, and a decadent farm-to-table mushroom dinner with live music and local libations. Advanced registration at shroomfest.com/tickets is required as space is now very limited. Tickets cost $100.

On Sunday, August 18, 12:30 p.m., TMF offers a Vibrant Living Cooking Class, also with Chef Blakely Stein. This is a rare opportunity to learn how to cook wholesome gourmet food. Classically trained at The French Culinary Institute, Stein offers healing through delicious food. Stein emphasizes the importance of becoming present through whole living foods by teaching quick and easy recipes that are nutritionally and spiritually charged. Tickets are $45 and include a full-sized gourmet meal. Seating for this event is very limited, so early registration at the Box Office is recommended.

This year TMF is excited to announce the first annual Chef’s Cook Off Street Party. The renowned Chef’s Cook Off, for the first time ever, takes place amidst a street party on South Pine on Friday, August 16, from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.. Featuring live music, cold beer, and samples of dishes prepared by chefs competing for the People’s Choice Award, the Judge’s Choice Award, and the coveted Chef’s Toque. Tickets are free and open to the public, but must be picked up in advance at the Wilkinson Public Library or the Palm Theater Box Office.

Also new this year is the Telluride Mushroom Festival’s Myco-remediation Certification Course, a rare opportunity to receive a formal certification in mycoremediation from one of the most esteemed mycological festivals in the world. Myco-remediation uses fungi capable of breaking down toxic molecules to return an environment contaminated by pollutants to a less contaminated state. Presentations and field workshops focus on healing environmental systems, managing projects from start to finish, and cultivation. Myco-remediation certification registration is open now and is only available to Telluride Mushroom Festival passholders. The cost is $300 and space is now extremely limited, so register at the Palm Theater Box Office as soon as possible.

For a full schedule, including our free events and parade information, please visit shroomfest.com. Telluride Mushroom Festival passes are currently on sale and going quickly. Full passes cost $160 and are available at the Palm Theater Box Office. Day passes and individual event tickets will also be available at the Palm Theater Box Office, 721 W. Colorado Avenue.

Box Office hours are 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. on Thursday 8/15 through Saturday 8/17; 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on Sunday 8/18.

For festival information, please go to www.shroomfest.com or email logistics@shroomfest.com with questions.