Events 2008

Telluride Mushroom Festival 1980-2008

By morel delimma ⋅ March 12, 2008 ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

In 1980, local herbalist John Sir Jesse found a note on his front door signed by the Denver group “Fungophile” (mushroom-lovers). In that note, the Fungophiles asked Sir Jesse to become a foray leader for a new weekend event now known as the Telluride Mushroom Festival. Although Sir Jesse knew where to find mushrooms, he didn’t necessarily know what those mushrooms were.

“They said that if I could show them where they were, they would tell me what they were,” Sir Jesse stated in a 2006 interview with the Telluride Watch newspaper. Over the following two and one-half decades, Sir Jesse remained involved with the festival.

2006 marked a shift in Telluride Mushroom Festival tradition, as local organizers took the reins from the Denver group as festival coordinators. At that time, Sir Jesse joined local agriculturist Kris Holstrom of Tomten Farm as the main organizers for the event. Now, that event is a project for the Telluride Institute.

That year, the festival was held over two days rather than the normal three-and-one-half days, and it was moved to a weekend earlier than normal to accommodate the school year. Normally, the Telluride Mushroom Festival was held the last weekend each August. That year, the festival was held 18-19 August. But, the far-reaching goal in 2006 was to make the festival bigger, with a full four-day schedule including more forays, cooking demonstrations and mushroom-growing discussions and lessons. According to Holstrom:

“Our goal is to try to incorporate more of the medicinal and culinary aspects of mushrooms, and look at the fungus world more as a whole…It seemed like in the past there was a strong focus on the psychedelic side, and while that is an important function of mushrooms in many cultures, we want to expand on that.”

Now, two years later, the Telluride Mushroom Festival still is experiencing flux; however, some regular contributors and new and enthusiastic faces are promising a spectacular festival in 2008 with a four-day festival that will run from the evening of the 20th to the afternoon of the 24th in August (see Fungifest Calendar). The following includes a roster to date of the mushroom “celebrities” who will grace Telluride’s streets this year:

• Gary Lincoff: Lincoff is a long-time regular contributor to the Telluride Mushroom Festival. This festival veteran has co-authored the well known Audubon Society Mushroom Identification Book and other publications on mushrooms. He has been connected with the New York Botanical Gardens for years, and has been known to wonder (not wander) about subway fungi.
• John Corbin: No matter if you attended the Telluride Mushroom Festival fifteen years ago or last year, Corbin has been there, ready to share how to inoculate hay bales with oyster mushrooms. When he’s not conducting a workshop, he may be playing the bagpipes. You can view a previous brochure on the straw bale process and view photos at this Web site.
• Manny Salzman: Manny hails from Denver, and he’s one of the original Fungophile members, the “landlord of Funky Science,” a retired cardiologist, and approximately 88 years young. I’ve seen Manny out-walk many a teenager during a foray, so do your warm-ups now. You can Google Manny’s name to learn more about him, if you have time to read the 5,530 references to his moniker.
• Kathleen Harrison: Ethnobotany and ethnomycology authority, psychonaut and visionary artist, Kathleen Harrison returns for her fourth year with the festival. Harrison’s research has focused on the specific rituals, myths, methods, and art forms of indigenous cultures that use plants and mushrooms ceremonially. Her ongoing field work with the Mazatec people of Mexico has garnered recognition throughout the ethnobotanical world. Read her essay on Roads Where There Have Long Been Trails to sense her expertise.
• Jim Gouin: Gouin is a research assistant at Fungi Perfecti who specializes in tree stump colonization. Unfortunately, it appears that Paul Stamets is unable to attend this year’s event, but Gouin is well versed in Stamets’ philosophies and practices.
• Christopher Hobbs: Fourth-generation botanist, clinical herbalist and licensed acupuncturist Christopher Hobbs made his first appearance at the Telluride Mushroom Festival in 2006. He continues to bring his expertise to this year’s event. Hobbs has authored or co-authored 24 books on health and herbal medicine, and he’s keen to share his insights on how mushrooms can be used as medicine for healing the human body. Visit his site to learn more.
• Daniel Winkler: Eco-Montane Consulting is just one way to say that Daniel Winkler knows Tibet inside out, especially when it comes to anything fungal in that region. Several of Daniel’s forays into Tibet are marked on the Fungifest Calendar, and he brings his expertise on the environment, forests, medicinal plants & mushrooms and rural development in High Asia to the high altitudes in Telluride this year.

Although press releases haven’t emerged yet and the site is just coming online for 2008, the Telluride Mushroom Festival is long known for its typical festival favorites including daily forays, cooking demonstrations with local chefs, weekend cook-offs, and the ever-popular annual Telluride Mushroom Festival Parade on main street. It appears to our ear-to-the-ground information that festival goers can expect much of the same and more in 2008.

Festival-goers can expect displays, books, presentations and more that will enlighten anyone’s perspective on how mushrooms can alter one’s world. And, speaking of alteration…in 2006, Sir Jesse stated, “It seems like as soon as you mention something like a ‘mushroom festival, people’s eyes light up and they wear this funny grin - but mushrooms are no more deadly or psychedelic than plants. We want to throw out the idea that mushrooms have a lot to offer, but people tend to turn a blind eye towards that because they [the mushrooms] have a bad image.”

It appears that the Telluride Mushroom Festival is bound and determined to maintain that focus, as this year’s event promises to be one of the best in years. Keep an eye on the Telluride Mushroom Festival Web site, and we’ll keep you informed as well about upcoming news and events that will be added to this year’s event as time goes on…