The fall festival celebrating the mycological marvels that grow wild in B.C.鈥檚 woods is returning to Sicamous for another year.

Fungi Fest, which uses activities based around wild mushrooms to educate and entertain, will be held at the Sicamous Curling Club on Sept. 27 to 30.

The festival kicks off with an icebreaker event at Joe Schmuck鈥檚 Roadhouse at 7 p.m. on Sept. 27 that features an open mic and mushroom-themed dishes as well as the restaurant鈥檚 normal offerings. Organizer Deb Heap said numerous vegan guests have attended the festival in the past and efforts will be made to accommodate them throughout the weekend.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just kind of a chance to get to know each other before the main festival,鈥� she said.

The main festival kicks off on Sept. 28. The marquee events of the festival include all- day foraging tours led by mushroom experts Larry Evans, Tyson Ehlers and Daniel Winkler.

鈥淓verything I hear back from anyone that participates is that they love the experts. They鈥檙e really good at what they do and they鈥檙e really engaging and personable, and they just do a really great job.鈥�

Lots of preparation, including scouting by Doug Airey, a local expert who lives near Malakwa, goes into choosing the locations for the tours in order to give participants the best chance of finding edible mushrooms.

The tours will run from mid-morning into the afternoon on all three days of the festival and cost $100 each. The fee includes transportation and a bag lunch.

Heap said Winkler is returning to the festival after several years which is very exciting because his expertise has been well-received in the past. Along with helping lead the tours, Winkler will do a presentation on medicinal mushrooms, which Heap said is one of his fortes.

Along with the presentation on medicinal mushrooms, there will be sessions dealing with edible mushrooms and 鈥渕agic mushrooms,鈥� a topic Heap says always draws a crowd.

This year鈥檚 festival will introduce a new workshop on growing mushrooms. All of the presentations and workshops will take place at the curling club and cost $10 to attend.

Those who want to get outdoors but can鈥檛 afford the cost or the strenuous activity of the full day walking tour, fungi expert Paul Kroeger will give a walking tour from 1 to 3 p.m. around Sicamous.

Kroeger will introduce participants to the interesting fungus that grows around the district. The shorter tour costs $30.

鈥淗e鈥檚 very good at what he does too, so that鈥檚 always quite popular,鈥� Heap said.

She added that even though it was very dry last year, which resulted in minimal mushroom growth, participants remained engaged in Kroeger鈥檚 tour. His knowledge of Sicamous allowed him to educate and entertain the audience with other subjects, including local history.

Heap said the festival has something for everyone, regardless of budget or interest in foraging for fungi.

Along with the tours and presentations, there will be displays, food trucks, beverage gardens, live music and a chance to talk to the fungi experts.

More information to register for activities can be found at www.fungifestival.com.

jim.elliot@saobserver.net
Like us on and follow us on