NEWS RELEASE
Oakland Museum of California
www.museumca.org

10TH & OAK STREETS
OAKLAND, CA  94607

For additional information:
Elizabeth Whipple
510/238-4740, M-F, MEDIA ONLY
PUBLIC CALLS: 510/238-2200
ewhipple@museumca.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Exhibition dates: December 2-3, 2006

Myriads of Mushrooms at the Fabulous Fungus Fair!
Saturday and Sunday, December 2–3, at the Oakland Museum of California

Pierotus sp Courtesy Natural Sciences Department.

Explore the mysteries of the mushroom at the 37th Annual Fungus Fair, presented by the Oakland Museum of California and the Mycological Society of San Francisco, Saturday and Sunday, December 2–3. Fair hours are 10 a.m.–6 p.m. on Saturday and 12–5 p.m. on Sunday.

The annual celebration of wild mushrooms is produced by the museum’s Natural Sciences Department and the Mycological Society of San Francisco (MSSF), with about 90 volunteer mycophiles. They gather, sort, label, and arrange hundreds of fresh specimens for the Fair’s displays, cooking demonstrations, and children’s activities. Last year the Fair drew more than 2500 visitors.

“The Fair’s mushroom selection varies from year to year depending on rainfall,” said Dorris Welch, interpretative specialist in the museum’s Natural Sciences Department. “Heavy rains have been predicted, which means a great year for the number of species on display. We collect from the Santa Cruz Mountains to Sonoma County and as far east as the Sierra foothills.”

Budding mycologists can pore over the remarkable colors and shapes of native wild mushrooms on display, attend a slide talk, or learn about home cultivation. Experts will be on hand both days to answer questions and identify visitors’ specimens.

Campsite gourmands can learn to recognize and prepare edible fungi from cookbook and

Aleuria.Photo: Michael Wood.

food vendors and the Fair’s popular cooking demonstrations. Bay Area chefs will prepare specialty dishes with fresh fungi on Saturday (11 a.m., 1 & 3 p.m.) and on Sunday (1 & 3 p.m.).

During the Fair, the Mycological Society will present slide shows and talks on mushroom hunting and identification, fungal diseases, and mushroom toxicology. This year speakers and cooking demonstrations will focus on mushroom identification and cookery for the novice.

Throughout the weekend Fair vendors will have cultivation kits, books, clothing, cookbooks, posters, and other mushroom-centric items suitable for spore-lovers of all ages. Fun With Fungus! mushroom crafts and Fair tours for kids take place on Saturday from
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

Here is an online copy of the Program

Admission to the Fungus Fair is $8 general, $5 seniors/students with ID, and free for members, kids five and under, and Oakland City employees. It includes access to the museum’s other exhibitions and galleries, including SPORTS: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers and the spectacular Days of the Dead show. The museum is one block from the Lake Merritt BART.

The Mycological Society of San Francisco is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of educational and scientific activities involving mushrooms.
Founded in 1950, the MSSF is the largest regional mushroom society in the U.S. The Society awards annual scholarships, tracks local mycological species, and assists Bay Area
poison control centers. It also leads mushroom identification walks and works to preserve cultural traditions of mushroom collecting. Visit www.mssf.org/FungusFair/poster.html for details.

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The Oakland Museum of California is located 10th & Oak Streets in Oakland, one block from the Lake Merritt BART. For more information, call 510/238-2200 or visit www.museumca.org.