The Hawaii Mushroom Festival - Third Annual

🍄 THE THIRD ANNUAL HAWAI'I MUSHROOM FESTIVAL 🍄

A Convergence of Community Science & Celebration

Aloha Fungi Friends!

Welcome to the official event page for the third annual Hawai'i Mushroom Festival!

We're ecstatic to be able to celebrate all things mushrooms with you at the 26-acre off-grid permaculture estate of Starseed Ranch in Kapa'au on Hawai'i Island, the weekend of July 27th & 28th, 2024. This festival is for the people of Hawai'i interested in deepening their knowledge of the fantastic world of fungi.

The HMF is an all-ages (keiki to kupuna friendly), 2-day event devoted to local mushroom education, community, & celebration. It will be teeming with talks & hands-on workshops by Hawai'i's leading mycologist, educators, & cultivators.

The festival has something of interest for everyone ranging from the absolute beginner to the seasoned mycologist. There is also an emphasis on creative expression in the arts in our mushroom art show, costume contest & display parade, and poetry night.

We have yet to release programming for this year but take a look at the last years for an idea of what to come!

Note: We know "Festival" is in the title, but please know this is mostly an educational event. We still celebrate and have a DJ & dance party night, but most of the programming is around community science & education into mycology and making it accessible for residents. Just a side note for people strictly looking to party :)

Previous Years Programming:

Education / Identification / Cultivation / Remediation / Celebration

• A history of the Mushrooms of Hawai'i from Don Hemmes, local author of the Mushrooms of Hawai'i field-guide

• A backyard permaculture workshop learning how to cultivate mushrooms utilizing banana leaf lead by Dave Pollmiller of Tropical Fungi Academy

• A deep dive into Mycoremediation, the science & spirt of utilizing mushrooms to clean up industrial pollutants in soil & groundwater with an emphasis on local applications such as Red Hill. Lead by 3 presenters Taye Bright, and Hannah & Sanae Hartmann

• Ethnomycology of Psilocybin Mushrooms, exploring the history of humans relationship to psilocybin 'magic' or 'sacred' mushrooms by Ryath Beauchene

• A Community- Scientist update and ongoing study of recently found species on the islands from Kyra Robinson, with input from Ben of the Hawaii Fungi Project / Mālama Mushrooms

• Growing Fungal Art & Biodesign with Chris Ritson, recently featured in Hana Hou! magazine

• Wild Hawai'i Mushroom Identification Class & Walk led by Chase of Tropical Fungi Academy & supported by other participating mycologist + wild edible plant expert, Sunny Savage

• Functional Mushrooms 101 & Entomopathogenic Fungi by Alex Dorr, scientist, author, & founder of Mushroom Revival & Mushroom Revival Podcast

• and mush mush more!

Of course, what mushroom festival would be complete without a grand expression of our love for the fungus among us through a mushroom inspired art / poetry / costume night with Saturday :)

The festival is a two-day event and attendees may sign up for one or both days though a discount is included for two-day ticket purchases and attendees are encouraged to fully immerse themselves in the full offering A quick look at the two-day scheduled events are as follows:

Schedule from previous year:

Day One, Saturday April 15th

•9 AM Welcoming & Opening Ceremony, Housekeeping details

Opening Pule by Alohi Kaiamakini-Keohuloa

•9:30 AM An Introduction to the Mushrooms of Hawai'i

led by Ben Lillibridge of Mālama Mushrooms & The Hawaii Fungi Project

•10 AM The Mushrooms of Hawai'i

by Don Hemmes co-author of the Mushrooms of Hawai'i field guide

•11 AM Wild Mushroom Identification & Walk*

led by Chase of Tropical Fungi Academy & The Hawaii Fungi Project, supported by other presenting mycologist

*We will also be blessed with wild edible plant guidance from local wild food expert Sunny Savage

•12 PM LUNCH! (Food Vendors or bring your own. Picnic style!)

•1 -3PM Mycoremediation 101, Mycoremediating Red Hill & Other Hawai'i Toxic Sites

led by Taye Bright, Hannah & Sanae Hartmann, Taye

•3 :30 PM Entomopathogenic Fungi

led by Alex Dorr, founder, author & host of Mushroom Revival

•4 :30PM Ethnomycology of Psilocybin Species

by Ryath Beauchene

•5:30 PM Day One Closing, break until Art Show & Poetry Night

•7 PM Art Show & Mushroom Poetry Night

Opt in event where anyone is given the platform to share mushroom inspired art & or get on the mic and drop mushroom inspired poetry.

•8 PM DJ, Celebration & Fire

DJ TBA

Day Two, Sunday April 16th

•8 AM Optional Wild Mushroom Identification 101 & Walk for those that missed Saturday*

*We will also be blessed with wild edible plant guidance from local wild food expert Sunny Savage

•9 AM Growing Art: Fungal Biodesign and the Search for a Sustainable Practice

led by Chris Ritson

•10 AM Biodiversity Discovery of Hawaiian Fungi including Endemicity & Seasonality

led by Kyra Robinson

•11 AM Functional Mushrooms 101

led by Alex Dorr, founder, author & host of Mushroom Revival

•12 PM Stories from Uganda: Low-tech Mushroom Growing with Refugees

led by Samantha Koches

•1 PM LUNCH BREAK

2 PM Cultivation Workshop: Low-Tek Growing Oysters on Banana Leaf Tek

by Dave Pollmiller of Tropical Fungi Academy

•3 PM Cultivation Workshop: Spawn Production

led by Summer Perrin from Spawn to Dusk / Hawai'i Fungi Project

•4 PM Meta Morpho Ceremony and Mush Love Intro to Facilitator Training Talk

by Sari Starr & Natalie Silva:

•5 :30 PM Closing Ceremony

•6 PM Pau, fire & vibrations!

*Schedule is subject to change up until event!

Mush Love & See you with the Summer Rains!

😊🤙🏼🍄

Flyer Artwork: @Noelbadgespugh

Mahalo to our Sponsors from 2022: Mālama Mushrooms, HIP Agriculture, HFUU, Mother Mushrooms, Tropical Fungi Academy, Hawaiian Ethos, Ola Brew, The Clarity Project, HICO, Big Island Coffee Roasters, Moku Foods

2024 Vendor Information & Application:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfCrtU_8Gkw7aOci43bzQjhBg04fd8JQcZrS1OrKFOCq9pc9w/viewform

Scholarship Application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScFV558SbovHzq_Uu3ESn-1PdphfgavkjET-5EsWgkwKe_VNA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Questions & Sponsorship Inquiries? Contact: Hawaiimushroomfest@gmail.com

Lodging:

There is no overnight lodging provided in the ticket. However, Starseed Ranch has limited (15) camping options available on site. Please email them directly to book campsite: starseedranchevents@gmail.com

Please explore accommodations in nearby towns such as Hawi & Waimea.

We have heard positive remarks bout the following:

Big Island Last Resort: https://bigislandlastresort.com/

Hawai'i Island Retreat https://hawaiiislandretreat.com/en-us/home - 15 minutes from Starseed

The Haven: https://www.thehavenathawinaniranch.com/

Food:

There will be a variety of local food / drink vendors at the festival on Saturday and Sunday. Please note that lunch is not included in the ticket price, but there will be multiple options available for purchase, including a Farm-t0-Fork meal prepared by Chef Erika Kuhr. Stay tuned for more details and menus to be announced!"