Mushroom Fair features a bevy of speakers

The Humboldt Bay Mycological Society will hold its annual Mushroom Fair Sunday starting at 11 a.m. at the Arcata Community Center, 321 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway . Admission is $5 for adults, $1 for children ages 12 to 16 and free for children under 12. The public can bring mushrooms they’d like to have identified. The day’s speakers are: · 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. “The World’s Most Dangerous Fungi” by Christian Schwarz.

· 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. “Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast” by Noah Siegel. This talk will be an introduction to local mushrooms.

· 1 to 2 p.m. “What’s New in Western Mushrooming” by Schwarz. This talk will focus on recent discoveries in the mushroom world.

· 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. Cooking demonstration with Chad Hyatt, who will prepare wild mushrooms to taste, as well as teach tips and tricks for using both familiar edible species as well as lesserknown choices.

· 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. “Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast” by Siegel.

· 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. “How to Enjoy Eating Wild Mushrooms Without Poisoning Yourself” by Bruce Kessler. Kessler will discuss common toxic mushrooms that resemble edibles and update everyone on how the deadly Amanita phalloides is moving north and may eventually bring an end to this region’s status as a “Death Cap Free Zone.”

For more information about the Mushroom Fair, call Joann Olson at 707-8228856.