Fall mushroom festivals, hunts, and dinners
| MENDOCINO, Calif.
If the mere mention of chanterelles and morels gets you salivating, consider a trip to a mushroom festival this fall.
Mendocino County, about 90 miles north of San Francisco, hosts a , Nov. 7-16,聽 with hunts for chanterelles, porcinis, morels, and rarer varieties聽such as聽the candy cap and hedgehog mushroom. Mushroom-themed dinners are offered throughout the area, along with mushroom cooking classes and a seminar on the healing power of mushrooms.
The hosts mushroom walks on Mondays between Nov. 17 and Jan. 26, at 1:30 p.m., and mushroom identification workshops, Nov. 22 and 29 and Dec. 20, . Other events include a Mushroom Exhibit at the Ford House Museum in Mendocino Village and a mushroom train ride, Nov. 15, departing Fort Bragg or Willits Depot, on .
On Vancouver Island in British Columbia, the Aerie Resort hosts a half-day each Saturday in October. The cost is about $125 ($130 Canadian) and includes transportation from the resort to forested hunting areas and a three-course lunch.
Also on Vancouver Island鈥檚 west coast, the annual takes place Oct. 18 in Bamfield with events including a mushroom hunt, mushroom derby, dinner, and dance.
On Washington鈥檚 Long Beach Peninsula, the includes a month of mushroom-centric dinners and tastings, from an Oct. 10 dinner at the Depot Restaurant in Seaview to a Nov. 6 dinner at the Tuscany Cafe at the Port of Ilwaco.
The Lake Quinault Lodge in Washington鈥檚 Olympic National Forest hosts the , Oct. 17-19.聽 The event features mushroom walks, mushroom collecting seminars, cooking and identification classes, tips for growing mushrooms, and activities for kids.
., based in Forestville, Calif., offers mushroom-themed trips including the Oregon Cascades Foray, Oct. 12-16, which includes hunting for chanterelles, porcini, matsutake, lion鈥檚 mane, and other varieties.
Madisonville, Texas, about 90 minutes from Houston, calls itself the 鈥淢ushroom Capital of Texas鈥� and is hosting a on Oct. 25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The event includes cooking demonstrations; arts, crafts, and food vendors; and a Shiitake 5K Run/Walk.
