BEST MUSHROOMING POPULARITY
Enough tripping over yourself at music festivals — the best kind of festive fungi has to be that which is found at the ever-growing SF Mycological Society’s Fungus Fair. Each December, Bay Area mycophiles meet up for a weekend (usually in Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science) to enjoy lectures, vendors selling mushroom-dyed sweaters, and entire rooms full of specimens hand-picked by members of the Society. Attendees can also take advantage of copious class offerings: ever wondered, for instance, about the best way to serve a black chanterelle? Take the mushroom cooking class. Best of all, you can find out what SFMS gets up to during the rest of the year: San Francisco is home to the country’s longest-running mycology programs (at SF State), and the Society hosts beginners’ foraging hikes all throughout the year for the budding, mushroom-loving spore.