Robson Valley Mushroom Festival
2024 Activities
A variety of fun and educational activities will be available throughout the weekend, including presentations, workshops, identification walks/forays, and edible mushroom tastings!
​
Your weekend pass to the Robson Valley Mushroom Festival gives you one field day foray to various locations in the Robson Valley with mushroom experts.
A second day with a short mushroom foray in the Dunster area.
Access to a variety of workshops.
An evening of presentations on the fascinating world of fungi on Saturday night.
​
Be sure to specify which field day you prefer when registering. Tickets available soon!
Workshops
We will be offering workshops of the following topics:
-
Introduction to Chaga
-
Wild Art (cedar and willow)
-
Fabric Dying with Mushrooms
-
Medicinal Plants
Walks/Forays
We will be leading identification and foraging walks/forays throughout the weekend, with two options available:
short or long walks/forays.
​
Short Foray: The Short Foray is a 2 hour walk foray in the Dunster area led by Martin Osler. The short foray takes place in the morning, leaving you the afternoon available to participate in several workshops and presentations led by our expert presenters.​
​
Long Foray: The Long Foray is an extended, day-long field trip that will last 5-6 hours and visit two different locations for extensive exploration and identification. Participants will meet the instructors and guides at the school, where there will be a group briefing on forest etiquette and safety, mushroom features, how to input data into iNaturalist and procedures. From there, participants will car-pool to the first destination, where the group will explore the site searching for fungi, and instructors will examine and identify everyone's finds before moving to the second area. This schedule allows everyone to experience two different environments/bio-types in which to contrast their finds. Participants will return to Dunster in the late afternoon and share their finds with other festival goers by displaying them in the main area.
​
Gala Dinner
On Saturday evening, we will be hosting a delicious mushroom-themed gala dinner provided by Chef Julian Randall!
Tickets are $25.00 and must be purchased in advance on our Tickets Page.
Presentations
This year's presentations explore the following topics:
-
An Introduction to Mushrooms
-
How to Describe Mushroom Features
-
How to Use iNaturalist (a non-profit social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity across the globe)
-
Top 10 Northern BC Edible Mushrooms and Fungi
-
Representations of Fungi in World Folklore and Myth
-
All Mushrooms are Medicinal
-
Expanded Distribution of the Rare "Witches Cauldron" (Sarcosoma globosum) in Canada
-
Below the Surface: The Importance of Mycorrhizal Fungi in Tree Restoration, and Fungi in the Forest
-
Building your own mushroom bed
Vendors
There will be a variety of local artisans and vendors for you to browse, including:
-
Mushroom grow kits
-
Tinctures
-
Soaps
-
Fresh and dried mushrooms
-
T shirts, hats, bags
-
A variety of mushroom-themed art and jewelry
Local Attractions
While in the area, be sure to check out our local attractions.
The Dunster Train Station Museum contains lots of community history and there is a great group of folks running it.
Also, be sure to check out the Dunster General Store, where you can get everything from mouse traps to a glue gun, chicken feed, locally-grown organic garlic, local pottery and more!