Telluride Mushroom Fest: Virtual Plans & More!

17 May Telluride Mushroom Fest: Virtual Plans & More!

With a heavy heart the Telluride Institute’s Telluride Mushroom Festival committee and staff announce that 2020 Telluride Mushroom Festival events are not happening this year in the same wonderful way they have occurred over the past 40 years due, of course, to the challenges surrounding the COVID- 19 pandemic and what looks to be a different kind of summer in Telluride this year.

That said, the 2020 Telluride Mushroom (Virtual) Festival is set to take place August 10 – August 16. Tentative socially distant forays and outdoor workshops will hopefully take place August 12– 16. Tickets for those events, if they happen, are available later this summer once the Festival knows such outdoor adventures can safely occur. Virtual Festival passes are now on sale now.

To purchase a Virtual Festival All-Access Pass or to donate to the Telluride Mushroom Festival visit the Eventbrite ticketing page and select “Tickets.” There you will find many donation and new ticket choices. Just scroll through the options.

To transfer or refund original 2020 Telluride Mushroom Festival passes: Please refer to the order confirmation email for next steps and instructions.

Watch this video (below) and hear it all straight from the horse’s mouth: Mushroom Festival Director Britt Bunyard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNIWgj59n7w&mc_cid=8d9dcca914&mc_eid=b6126f9b32

“After several weeks of evaluating information and many weeks difficult committee/staff discussions, we have reached this decision out of respect for the Telluride community, our public health responsibility, and for the many financial uncertainties planning a physical event brings along with it this (and every) year,” explained Festival Operations Manager, Ashley Smith.

However, the Telluride Mushroom Festival staff is determined to turn the situation into lemonade and use it as a great opportunity to bring the Telluride Mushroom Festival around the globe and into the living rooms of its international fan base by moving to an online platform which will host lectures, workshops, keynotes, forays, culinary demos and more.

To date, the Telluride Mushroom Festival has been the largest wild mushroom gathering in the country, hosting over 600 fungi fans annually. The event has over 6,000 followers in its Facebook community and receives press coverage from dozens of mainstream and fungi-specific journals from around the world. Last year, Vogue attended and featured Telluride in a large spread.

Again, the new virtual Telluride Mushroom Festival is slated for the week of August 10-16.
If possible at that time, staff will host a handful of small (no more than 10 people) socially-distant forays and outdoor workshops around the region. Of course, such events will based on updated town, county and state health orders.

Festival staff noted in an announcement to its fan base that fundraising opportunities to ensure the Festival comes back as strong as ever in 2021 are more important now than ever. As a local 501c3 nonprofit, the Telluride Institute, (the organization which hosts the Festival), is asking attendees who have already paid to consider donating their pass fee instead of asking for a refund.

“We have had an amazing 40 years of fungi celebration and education, and now the Festival’s longevity for the next 40 years depends on your support,” said Festival Director Britt Bunyard (in video above). “If you have the ability and are interested in supporting the Telluride Mushroom Festival, please consider donating your original 2020 Festival Pass.  In return you will receive $100 off your 2021 Festival Pass and all access to this year’s virtual platform.”

Additionally, attendees who choose to donate their passes will have access to the forays offered in Telluride during Festival week – if they can happen.

“Safety and prevention of the spread from COVID-19 is our top priority. We will provide more announcements and updates as the summer goes on,” concluded Bunyard.