Join us for the 3rd Annual Cumberland Fungus Fest – a truly interdisciplinary celebration of all things ‘shrooms.
September 29 – October 1, 2022
Full days and nights of workshops, walks, talks, bioblitz, forest ecology, fungus art, music, ‘shroomy special events, and more.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live, work and play within the forests, lands and waters of the unceded traditional territory of the Pentlatch, Eiksan, Sathloot and Sasitla people, known collectively today as the K’ómoks Nation, and we are grateful for the opportunity to be part of the stewardship of this special place.
Family Fun All Weekend
Admission ($25 for adults and $10 for 16 and under)
Includes exclusive access to register for guided walks as of September 14th!
General Admission Festival Passes include:
- Friday Day: Family Fungus Fun! A mycro visionary quest! (be sure to register!)
- Friday Day: Participatory Workshop 2-4 pm – Exploring Access, Equity and Privilege in the Forest.
- Friday Eve: “What Fungus has Taught me about Life, the Universe, and Everything” – community panel event at Harmonic Arts
- Saturday: All live talks at Harmonic Arts or Lower Cultural Centre (Fri/Sat) 9 am till 4 pm
- Saturday: All day specimen table, social spaces, story tent, kids’ craft activities
- Saturday Eve: Fungus Bazaar (art, music, crafts, projections, bar and more!) – licensed event, intended for mature audiences
PLUS access to these extra activities ( ($10 registration fees apply)
Friday October 1
1030am: WALK – ‘Fungus of the Cumberland Forest w/ Dr. Kent Brothers 90 minutes
1130am: WALK – w/ Master Herbalist Yarrow Willard – 90 minutes
1130am: TOUR Comox Valley Mushrooms cultivation facility 3337 Fraser Rd, Courtenay.
NOON: TALK – “Fungi and Forest Ecology” w/ Andy MacKinnon
1pm: WALK – Forest Ecology w/ Andy MacKinnon 120 minutes
130pm: TALK – Master Herbalist Yarrow Willard “Local wild mushrooms for food and medicine” – 60 minutes
2pm: TOUR Comox Valley Mushrooms – site tour of gourmet mushroom cultivation facility – 3337 Fraser Rd, Courtenay.
3pm: TALK – Dr. Kent Brothers “Demystifying Mushrooms” – 60 minutes
430pm: WALK – Walk on the Wild Side – an all senses romp through the Cumberland Forest w/ Dawn Copeman 90 minutes
430pm: WALK – Intro to Mushroom Exploring with Denman Island mycophile Megan Rose – 90 minutes (in the Cumberland Forest)
430pm: WORKSHOP – Mushroom Cultivation (w/ take home kit) w/ Daniel Devine 90 minutes
7pm: TALK – FUNGUS FEST SUPER PANEL w/ Expert panel featuring Andy MacKinnon, Yarrow Willard, Dawn Copeman, Kent Brothers ad special guests
845pm: WALK – After Dark Forest Walk w/ the Cumberland Bat Project – 90 minutes (weather permitting)
Because all events at the 2nd Annual Cumberland Fungus Fest are outdoors we will not be requiring vaccine passports.
However, we will provide sanitation stations and request masks be worn when entering the space for talks until folks are seated and settled.
We ask attendees to be ‘mindful of the times, give space, respect the comfort zones of others, and respect all public health protocols’. Individual walk guides may request masking, and they are requested at all times when distancing isn’t possible (when checking out specimens).
Going forward the CCFS will be producing events requiring vaccine passports and following public health directives to protect the capacity of our health system to care for our community.
Saturday October 2
9am: WALK – Forest Ecology Walk w/ Andy MacKinnon
9am: TALK – Mushrooms and Mental Health w/Thom O’Dell, Ph.D., P.Ag
1030am: WALK – Fungus in the Cumberland Forest w/ Dr. Kent Brothers – 90 minutes
1030am: WORKSHOP – Mushroom Cultivation Workshop (with take-home kit) w/ Daniel Devine, 90 minutes
1230pm: TALK – Dr. Kent Brothers – “Tooth Fungi of the Pacific Northwest” – 45 minutes
130pm: WALK – Walk on the Wild Side, an all senses romp through the Cumberland Forest w/ Dawn Copeman – 90 minutes
130pm: DROP IN – Kids Fungus and Forest Art, Bio Blitz passports 130-3
Free
130pm: WALK – Intro to Mushroom Exploring w/ Daniel Devine – 90 minutes
3pm: TALK – “A New Handbook: “Mushrooms of BC” w/ Andy MacKinnon – 60 minutes
4pm: WALK – Weird Church in the Woods: Listening to the Liceum Saturday October 2 @ 4 pm Using wireless technology to remain safely distanced, we will journey into the woods and deep into ourselves for this walking meditation and time to reflect on the many layers of the forest and how all creatures might flourish together. Details at www.weirdchurchcumberland.com/events
Free
430pm: TALK – Master Herbalist Yarrow Willard of Harmonic Arts “Top medicinal mushrooms and their benefits” – 60 minutes
430pm: TOUR – Comox Valley Mushrooms – cultivation facility site tour 3337 Fraser Rd, Courtenay,
6-10pm: FUNGUS BAZARRE, Outside at Harmonic Arts: live music, art displays, firepits, projections, bar, vendors and more, featuring:
| Mycelial Magic – Shaminatrix Mix / Art Show |
| Half Asian / Amy CODA – live in concert |
| Elise Boulanger – live in concert |
| Selector Sproutsonic – psych lounge |
Fun Fungus Links – check out this cool, curated collection of mushroomy goodness.
What Fungus Fest Offers for You!
Watch here for schedule updates and notices.
ALL FRIDAY & SATURDAY EVENTS REQUIRE A FUNGUS FEST PASS.
BONUS DAY! Thursday, Sept 29 - Uniquely ticketed event
(no General Fungus Pass required. $20
7pm - "Magical Mushrooms - Elves, Pixies and More ..." Special event w/Andy MacKinnon
Join forest ecologist, author, mycologist and story weaver Andy MacKinnon for this special event “Magical Mushrooms – Elves, Pixies and More …” at the Cumberland Museum. This event is a special joint fundraiser for the Cumberand Community Forest Society and Cumberland Museum. “Fairy rings, elfin saddles and witch’s butter…enter an enchanted realm!”
$20 per person. Uniquely ticked event
Friday, Sept 30 - PASS REQUIRED
10am - The Fungus Connection w/ ROOTz & Raven
Children please bring your fairy-guardian along in the fun 🙂
The Fungus Connection— A family-friendly fungi forest waltz and connective art project (w/ RaVen & RootZ)Spores, polypores and mushrooms, oh my! Unite with fellow mycophiles: RootZ and RaVen as we wander this mysterious bridge between death and rebirth. Together we’ll tread light and slow, and let our curiosity unite us as we strive to give name and purpose to what fruits amongst the step moss and nursery logs. Let’s demystify some mushroom misgivings, and delight in their magic as we sense into their mycelial connections on trail. Here’s invitation for the young and young-at-heart to play amongst the small and mighty of the forest and connect with the micro-visionary world beneath our feet.
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass. Children must still register.
4:30pm - Listening to the Land - Guided Walk
On this National day of Truth and Reconciliation, join Ingrid Brown from Weird Church for a decolonizing exploration of our connection with land. This walk will involve times of movement and stillness, of silence and reflection, as we seek together to find right relationship and healing on these unceded lands.
$10 with your Fungus Fest Pass.
10am - Cumberland Forest Walk w/ Dawn Copeman
The mysteries of the lichen with artist, storyteller and CCFS Observationist in residence
$10 per person with your Fungus Fest Pass.
NOON - Education, Engagement and Ecology in the Cumberland Forest
What do forests teach us about biodiveristy, human history, climate change and what is needed to safeguard them for the future. Education, ecology and politics converge in this guided walk with Andy Mac Kinnon and Meaghan Cursons
$10 per person with your Fungus Fest Pass.
2pm - Participatory Workshop : Access, Equity and Privilege in the Forest
Join us for a Facilitated Community Dialogue to discuss our relationships with natural spaces and with each other through the lens of access, equity, privilege and right relationships
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass.
7pm - GUEST PANEL - what fungus has taught me about life, the universe, and everything
A fun evening of 10-minute presentations by all our guests.
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass.
Saturday, October 1 - PASS REQUIRED
WALKS, DAYTIME
All guests on registered walks MUST have a General Fungus Fest Pass.
You may not register other guests for walks unless they have passes. Wristbands will be issued to General FF Pass holders at box office.
9am - Guided Walk with Andy MacKinnon.
Ecologist, author, activist and politician, Andy is renowned for his talents as an educator and is one of the modern architects of the widely-used biogeoclimatic forest classification system in British Columbia.
$10 with your Fungus Fest Pass.
9am - Guided Walk with Dr. Kent Brothers
Dr. Kent Brothers shared his knowledge of the extensive diversity of fungi in ecosystems and the valuable roles that they play in the environment on this guided walk in the Cumberland Forest
$10 with your Fungus Fest Pass.
10am - HEATHER SOO - "Rotten!
Something is rotten in the Cumberland Forest…fungus digests and breaks down trees creating homes for insects, birds, and small mammals. Learn about the different types of wood decayers and how they eat tough wood. We’ll learn to identify fungus based on the rot they create and mushrooms they produce, then talk about this essential role in the forest ecosystem.”
$10 with your Fungus Fest Pass.
11am - Mycelium Connections
Join Master Herbalist Yarrow Willard Yarrows for this guided walk where he shares his entertaining and elightening fusion of modern and old world knowledge, sprinkled with his own magic.
$10 with your Fungus Fest Pass.
11am - Wild, Slimey, and Fuzzy in the Forest
Join avid forest explorer, community historian, artist, photographer and ‘naturalist in residence’ for the Cumberland Community Forest Society Dawn Copeman on this exploration of slimy, hairy and fuzzy things in the forest
$10 with your Fungus Fest Pass.
1:30pm - Mycelium Connections
Join Master Herbalist Yarrow Willard Yarrows for this guided walk where he shares his entertaining and elightening fusion of modern and old world knowledge, sprinkled with his own magic.
$10 with your Fungus Fest Pass.
1:30pm - Forest Surprises
Join forest ecologist, mycologist and storyteller Andy MacKinnon for this romp through the woods – who knows what you might find!
$10 with your Fungus Fest Pass.
3:30pm - Wild, Slimey, and Fuzzy in the Forest
Join avid forest explorer, community historian, artist, photographer and ‘naturalist in residence’ for the Cumberland Community Forest Society Dawn Copeman on this exploration of slimy, hairy and fuzzy things in the forest
$10 with your Fungus Fest Pass.
3:30pm - Guided Walk with Dr. Kent Brothers
Dr. Kent Brothers shared his knowledge of the extensive diversity of fungi in ecosystems and the valuable roles that they play in the environment on this guided walk in the Cumberland Forest
$10 with your Fungus Fest Pass.
4pm - Let's Talk About Death & Mushrooms!
Join Madeline Christie from Daisy Deathcare for a contemplative journey through the forest while discussing topics related to death, dying, and mushrooms! Attendees will be entered into a prize draw and receive a crash course on all things death and mushrooms, including natural burial, decomposition, psilocybin therapy at end of life, medicinal mushrooms (and herbs) for grief and loss, and more!
$10 with your Fungus Fest Pass.
KIDS' PROGRAM - CULTURAL CENTRE: DAYTIME, OUTSIDE
9am - 1030am - Mushroom Story Time
Join fun fungus inspired community readers for a story tent filled with faboulous books all about fungi and the forest!
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass.
11am - 1pm - Mushroom Arts, Crafts and Fun w/ ’Gus, RaVen + RootZ
Join us in designing fungi-licious pendants and paintings in the kids tent.
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass.
1:30pm - Mushrooms in the Rain
A Felt Story with Heather
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass.
CULTURAL CENTRE: DAYTIME, INSIDE
11am - Andy MacKinnon Presentation
Andy MacKinnon presents on a “A Natural and Cultural History of Magic Mushrooms in BC”
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass.
12:30pm - The Nature of Fungi
Dr. Kent Brothers presents on the Nature of Fungi
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass.
2pm - The Business of Mushrooms
Join Jennifer Dou from Forij and Ali Ballentyne from Foraged Products and Services for apresentation on the business of mushrooms, locally and abroad and the lessons, community and potential of the fungus in the business context
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass.
4pm - The Wood Wide Web
Master Herbalist Yarrow Willard is an entertaining educator who is passionate about herbs, mushrooms, superfoods, advanced nutrition and the growing science of re-claiming wellness and vibrant living in the modern age. Join Yarrow for this presentation where he shares his entertaining and elightening fusion of modern and old world knowledge, sprinkled with his own special magic.
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass.
CULTURAL CENTRE: AFTER DARK
7pm - 10:30pm - FUNGUS BAZAAR & Craft Market
Master Herbalist Yarrow Willard is an entertaining educator who is passionate about herbs, mushrooms, superfoods, advanced nutrition and the growing science of re-claiming wellness and vibrant living in the modern age. Join Yarrow for this presentation where he shares his entertaining and elightening fusion of modern and old world knowledge, sprinkled with his own special magic.
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass.
HARMONIC ARTS : DAYTIME, OUTSIDE
10am - Cultivation Walk-Through
How To Grow Mushrooms w/ Jennifer Dou from Forij.
Jennifer is the Co-Founder and Lead Mycologist of Forij Mushrooms, a local cultivation supply and functional mushroom company. Jennifer is a biologist and fungi-lover, with a degree in microbiology and years of laboratory experience harvesting macrophage cells, performing cell culture work, and using CRISPR Cas9 technology. Soon, she discovered that the same mushrooms she found in the forest bore uncanny resemblance to the animal cells in her petri dishes. She has been cultivating mushrooms of all varieties ever since.
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass.
Noon - Myceliated Consciousness and the Therapeutic Paradigm
This talk, with Adrian Oberg, will explore many intertwining examples of how mushrooms function as therapeutic adjuncts. Traveling through global and local history, neurobiology, counseling psychology, and popular culture, we will delineate the setbacks and advances that have brought the Pacific Northwest as a society into a unique relationship with psychedelic fungus.
This is an opportunity to acknowledge the mind-expanding dimensions of many mushrooms across the world as well as their power to elicit challenging psychological experiences, while opening up a discussion about how to support these experiences as significant opportunities for healing and growth.
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass.
2pm - Once Upon a DeathCap "Valley" Mushroom
A mycologist and foragers story.
Join mycologist Kent Brothers and Nature Educator RootZ tell of how the death cap mushroom came to fruit in the Comox Valley. We’ll share our knowledge and first hand accounts that whispered us to meet beneath hazelnut trees to extract Comox Valley’s first Amanita phalloides (death cap) specimen found fruiting north of Victoria. Here we’ll share our unique perspectives that speak to Nature’s connective relationship, sharing awareness and safety over fear. Curiosity and questions welcome.
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass.
HARMONIC ARTS: AROUND THE FIRE
8pm - Myceliated Consciousness and the Therapeutic Paradigm
This talk, with Adrian Oberg, will explore many intertwining examples of how mushrooms function as therapeutic adjuncts. Traveling through global and local history, neurobiology, counseling psychology, and popular culture, we will delineate the setbacks and advances that have brought the Pacific Northwest as a society into a unique relationship with psychedelic fungus.
This is an opportunity to acknowledge the mind-expanding dimensions of many mushrooms across the world as well as their power to elicit challenging psychological experiences, while opening up a discussion about how to support these experiences as significant opportunities for healing and growth.
INCLUDED with your Fungus Fest Pass.