Cordova Fungus Festival begins on Aug. 31

Events include guided forest forays, fiber workshops, salmon feast

Amanita mushrooms in different stages of development. Photo by Kate Mohatt/For The Cordova Times

Fungus-pluckers, lichen-lovers and other foragers of the land will gather on Labor Day weekend to celebrate the 11th annual Cordova Fungus Festival, which runs from Aug. 31 through Sept. 4. 

The long weekend’s activities, based at the Cordova Center, will include excursions throughout the surrounding Chugach National Forest, to explore the northernmost coastal temperate rainforest and celebrate the interconnected life cycles of mushrooms, salmon and the forest. 

Keynote speaker Rick Van de Poll, the principal of Ecosystem Management Consultants in Sandwich, N.H., and a former mycology instructor, has recorded over 1,300 mushrooms in New Hampshire alone during his natural resource inventory work.  

He has also presented dozens of walks and workshops throughout New England on mycology for the past 30 years. 

Van de Poll is to give a presentation on Sept. 1 during the wine and cheese Mushroomer’s Mixer, where University of Alaska Southeast Professor Kitty LaBounty will also do a presentation. LaBounty teaches a fall mushroom workshop in Sitka and works with University of Alaska Southeast students to examine the relationships and roles of fungi in the ecosystem.  She is also taking part in the Sitka Big Year Project, an effort to document all the fungi, flora and fauna in the greater Sitka area. 

US Forest Service mycologist Kate Mohatt leads a foray during a past Fungus Festival. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service Cordova Ranger District/For The Cordova Times

Festival activities are set to begin on Aug. 31 with a mushroom-related artisans workshop at The Net Loft.

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Guided forest forays led by local and expert mycologists will highlight the weekend, with mushroom identification and display tables lined with locally plucked mushrooms, plus a bear-bread painting class with Ilanka Cultural Center, fungus classes and events for children.  There will also be a Great Mushroom Recipe Swap hosted by local edible fungus expert Ken Hodges, and the Wild Harvest Feast featuring Chef Jeff Qualls of McKinny, Texas. Qualls, who has operated several award winning restaurants and is the guest of the Copper River/Prince William Sound Marketing Association’s fall Coho Media Tour. 

The Wild Harvest Feast on the evening of Sept. 2 will include a silent auction of artisan wares and handcrafted items, including pottery, plant-dye silks, jams, jellies and hand knit items.  Proceeds from the dinner benefit the festival and the regional non-profit Copper River Watershed Project. Tickets for the dinner, which will feature Copper River coho salmon and mushrooms, are $65 per person and available from the Copper River Watershed project at 1-907-424-3334. 

Register for the Ilanka Cultural Center’s bear-bread painting class by calling 907-424-7903.  There is a $10 fee.   All other festival activities are free. 

The event is a partnership of the Cordova Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Forest Service-Cordova Ranger District and others 

A young nature-lover takes a closer look at a prize specimen during a past Fungus Festival foray. Photo by Nick Docken U.S. Forest Service/For The Cordova Times

Festival registration, which is free, is required through the Cordova Chamber of Commerce. To register and see a full schedule of Cordova Fungus Festival activities, visit cordovafungusfestival.com or the festival’s Facebook page at facebook.com/cordovafungusfest. 

2017 Cordova Fungus Festival Schedule

Unless marked with *, all Cordova Fungus Festival events are FREE. However, registration is required with Cordova Chamber of Commerce (907)424-7260 or at the Festival Info Table (Cordova Center upper atrium). Visit cordovafungusfestival.com to register online or sign up to volunteer.

 

 THURSDAY, August 31st

6:30-9:30pm *Needlefelted Mushroom Shadowbox. Pre-register at The Net Loft 424-7337. (The Net Loft Education Room)

 FRIDAY, September 1st

1:00- 5:00pm Mushroom ID table open (Cordova Center Atrium) KID FRIENDLY

9:00-Noon *Needlefelted Mushroom Shadowbox. Pre-register at The Net Loft 424-7337. (The Net Loft Education Room)

12:30-1:30pm Fungus 101 Class  – Donations accepted. (Cordova Center Education Room) KID FRIENDLY

2:00-5:00pm  *Mushroom Watercolor Papercut Shadowbox. Pre-register at The Net Loft 424-7337. (The Net Loft Education Room)

5:00-7:00pm Opening Reception: David Rosenthal, Katmal Art & Science. (Copper River Gallery, Cordova Center)

6:00-7:30pm Mushroomers Wine & Cheese Mixer – Donations accepted. (Lower Atrium, Cordova Center)

Friday Evening: Festival Speakers at Cordova Center, North Star Theater – Donations accepted for admission

7:30pm Speaker: “Rainforest Mushrooms: Edible and Interesting Fungi of the Alexander Archipelago” by Kitty LaBounty

8:00pm Keynote: “Conserving Mycological Diversity” by Rick Van de Poll

 SATURDAY, September 2nd

9am – 5pm Mushroom ID table open (Cordova Center Atrium) KID FRIENDLY

9:00am FORAY: Hedgehogs & Hodges; Edible Mushroom Hunt with Ken (Meet @ Cordova Center) KID FRIENDLY

10am-12:00pm *Mushroom Terrarium Workshop. Pre-register at The Net Loft 424-7337. (The Net Loft Education Room) KID FRIENDLY

10am-12:00pm  FORAY: Kids’ Fun Scavenger Hunt at The Eyak Corporation’s Cabin Lake Campground. KID FRIENDLY

11am-2pm *Bear-bread Paiting Workshop. Pre-regsitration with Ilanka required, 424-7903. (Ilanka Cultural Center) KID FRIENDLY

1:00pm FORAY: Mushrooms in their natural habitat with Rick Van de Poll & Kitty LaBounty (Meet @ Cordova Center) KID FRIENDLY

2:30-4:15pm  *Mushroom Terrarium Workshop. Pre-register at The Net Loft 424-7337. (The Net Loft Education Room) KID FRIENDLY

4:30-5:30pm Fungus 102 Class – Donations accepted. No pre-requisite required. (Cordova Center Education Room)

6:00pm *Wild Harvest Feast – Tickets available at Copper River Watershed Project 424-3334 (Cordova Center Comm Rm A&B)

 SUNDAY, September 3rd

9am – 5pm Mushroom ID table open (Cordova Center Atrium)

9:00-10:00am Mushrooms in Folklore storytelling and lecture with Rick Van de Poll (Cordova Center Education Room) BIG KID FRIENDLY

10:00am FORAY: Exploration of Cordovan Fungi with Ken Hodges (Meet @ Cordova Center) KID FRIENDLY

11:00am FORAY: Fungi Tour with Rick Van de Poll & Kitty LaBounty (Meet @ Cordova Center) KID FRIENDLY

2:00-3:00pm Kids’ FORAY: Led by the 10 year old fungus phenom Gabriel Wingard (Meeting location TBA) KID FRIENDLY

2:00-5:00pm (tentative) *Drop in Mushroom Dyeing Session at The Net Loft. Call 424-7337 for updates.

3:00-5:000pm Kids Foraging Fun (Meet @ Skater’s Cabin) KID FRIENDLY

5:00-6:00pm The Great Mushroom Recipe Swap hosted by Ken Hodges (Cordova Center lower Atrium)

 MONDAY, September 6th

9:00am-4:00pm *Painted Mushroom Gathering Basket at The Net Loft 424-7337. (The Net Loft Education Room)

http://thecordovatime.wpengine.com/2017/08/25/wild-harvest-feast-set-sept-2/

 

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