By Trinity Trimble

Mushrooms grow on decomposing material, like tree trunks. Photo Credit: @Victy at Freeimages.com

Appalachian Understories will hold the first annual Fall Fungi Festival on Saturday and Sunday.  

 The festival will be at the Tenderfoot Learning Lab in Athens, Ohio. Appalachian Understories is a social enterprise of Rural Action that organizes guided tours of the Appalachian region.

The Fall Fungi Festival will be an overnight educational event for people of all ages. It will feature educational workshops on growing and identifying mushrooms, foraging hikes, crafts and a trip to a nearby farm. There will be vendors selling mushrooms and mushroom-themed items and a live music performance by Megan Bee.

“The idea was to bring people together, to celebrate the outdoors, and to learn more about the ecology of Appalachia,” says Madison Donohue, the tourism manager for Appalachian Understories. 

Lindsey Rudibaugh is the executive director at Tenderfoot Learning Lab. She says the Tenderfoot Learning lab is a great place to find mushrooms. They are excited to collaborate with Appalachian Understories for the festival. 

“We have extensive trails. We have a lot of biodiversity of mushrooms and trees. We have a pond. We have ravines and creeks. We have a lot of places that mushrooms like to grow. So, between the like-mindedness of our organizations and the ability to make nature and mushrooms, in particular, available to the general public, we were really excited to collaborate.” 

Campers have the option to tent camp or hammock in the Hammock Garden. They will park nearby and take a hayride to the festival with their camping gear. There will be bathrooms and a port-a-potty on site.

Donohue encourages people to pack with rain in mind. She says people should bring “some nice shoes to keep your feet warm, a rain jacket, and cash.”

The festival location will have limited cell service, and many vendors will prefer cash. People should also plan to bring camping meals and snacks as there may be a food truck, but the festival does not include meals.

“We have so much traditional knowledge nestled in the hills here. So, we wanted to honor all of that, take advantage of people’s growing interest in mushrooms in general, and shine a light on the multitude of ways that we can use mushrooms,” says Rudibaugh. 

People can purchase tickets and find the full festival schedule at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fall-fungi-festival-tickets-692045816667.

Kids 12 and under can attend for free.