Morgan Hill’s Mushroom Festival returns this weekend for 43rd year

Highlights include Mushroom Expo, chef demos, food booths

Morgan Hill, the Mushroom Capital of the Western United States, will celebrate its top crop this weekend at the 43rd annual Mushroom Festival.

The downtown event, which will will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 25, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, May 26, will feature more than 145 arts and crafts, retail and food booths; wine and beer gardens; plus live music on two stages and strolling entertainers.

Rebranded from the Mushroom Mardi Gras to the Mushroom Festival to sharpen the focus on food, the event will have a lineup of vendors making all manner of mushroom dishes at the Food Court, including deep-fried, marinated, grilled and stuffed mushrooms; mushrooms in soup, spring rolls, nachos and sandwiches; and desserts such as mushroom ice cream and maple-mushroom snickerdoodle cookies.

In the Rose Garden of the Community & Cultural Center, a Mushroom Expo sponsored by the Western Mushroom Growers Association will show how mushrooms are cultivated, educate attendees about the health benefits, sell mushroom-growing kits and offer tastes of mushroom beer.

Nearby in the Hiram Morgan Hill Room, the Cooking Stage will feature recipe demonstrations by vegan chef Tyler Graham of Craft Roots; chef Raul Escareno Jr. from the Growers Association and Baler Steakhouse; Albert J., the Untamed Chef; and local celebrity chefs Gene Sakahara and and Sam Bozzo.

Food aside, the festival’s focus is education. Since 1980, the festival has awarded $1.5 million in scholarships to high school seniors. An additional $550,000 has been distributed to the volunteers from local nonprofits and youth sports and school groups who staff the festival.

For the first time in 20 years, admission will be charged to defray the costs of putting on the festival and boost the scholarship fund. General admission is $20 (or $15 advance tickets), and seniors/military get in for $17. Admission is free for kids under age 15.

To obtain the discount, go to https://morganhillmushroomfestival.org/home and click on the QR code on the tickets page.

Festival entrances are located at Fourth and Depot streets and on Monterey Road. Attendees may follow festival parking signs for free parking, check for street options or make a $10 donation to the Sobrato Band Boosters for parking at San Pedro and Church streets, with a free shuttle to the entrance.

Details: https://morganhillmushroomfestival.org/home