By Jacob DeVecchio @oklahomafungi
The First-Ever Oklahoma Mushroom Festival was absolutely Fung-tastic! Mushroom enthusiasts from all over the state gathered at the OKC Farmers Public Market on October 15th, 2023, to celebrate National Mushroom Day. The event was hosted by Oklahoma Fungi, the state’s leading resource for mushroom education.
The main goal of the event was to share knowledge about mushrooms and break the negative stigmas associated with magic mushrooms. The venue was jam-packed with sixty market vendors, four delicious food vendors, eight educational classes, ten hands-on workshops, a kid’s station, and a magical immersive experience room.
A total of 1,767 people attended, coming from various parts of our state and even from other parts of the country to celebrate the fascinating world of fungi. It was an incredible day with attendees discovering the amazing role that mushrooms play in nature and our health. Whether you were a beginner or an expert mushroom forager, there were classes and workshops designed for you to get engaged and learn from our passionate speakers.
On the first floor of the venue, there were forty-five vendors showcasing an impressive assortment of edible and medicinal mushrooms, as well as food products infused with mushrooms like gummies, chocolate bars, and tea blends. They had over fifteen different mushroom varieties, including blue oyster, pink oyster, yellow oyster, shiitake, cordyceps, reishi, chaga, and many more intriguing species.
Attendees had the chance to learn about mushroom cultivation through ten workshops and even make their own mushroom kits to take home. The four different food vendors offered mouthwatering dishes and drinks infused with mushrooms like coffee, tea, egg rolls, pizza, and even spicy hand-pulled noodles. All of the food vendors sold out by the end of the event. One of the top highlights of the festival was the immersive experience room designed by local artists and created for the attendees to relax in a magical mushroom forest. The sensory experience of walking through this enchanting space and learning about the different benefits of mushrooms in nature was truly awe-inspiring for many of the families that visited.
The second floor of the venue was filled with twenty booths featuring local artists, as well as a large education room offering eight classes. The education classes covered a range of topics, from foraging for morel mushrooms to the importance of mushroom testing. We had an amazing lineup of speakers, including a university dean, university professors, a doctor, a psychedelic therapist, a veteran, and multiple mushroom entrepreneurs. The keynote presentation was focused on the Oklahoma Psilocybin Research Bill and the challenges our state has faced in getting it passed for our veterans. The event received recognition from Governor Kevin Stitt and Mayor David Holt, making it a historic endorsement for our local mushroom community. With positive mushroom events like this, the Oklahoma House of Representatives and Senators can start to understand that our community cares about all mushrooms, not only the magic mushrooms.
The Oklahoma Mushroom Festival was a full day of celebrating everything mushroom and it was a huge success. From the bustling market vendors to the informative classes, the mouthwatering food vendors to the mesmerizing immersive room, the festival offered an exciting day of mushroom adventures for everyone who attended. The First-Ever Oklahoma Mushroom Festival has shown us incredible potential for the upcoming legal mushroom market in Oklahoma. With the help of our local community, we can make Oklahoma the Mushroom Hub of the Great Plains. See you next year at the 2nd Annual Oklahoma Mushroom Festival. Mush Love!
