Fall Fungi Festival

Name: Fall Fungi Festival
Start: 2026-10-17T10:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-10-18T15:00:00-04:00
Location: Tenderfoot Learning Lab

Schedule

Sat, 17 Oct, 2026 at 10:00 am to Sun, 18 Oct, 2026 at 03:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Tenderfoot Learning Lab | Athens, OH

This is a space that is inclusive and encouraging for all folks to learn about fungi and deepen their sense of place in Appalachian Ohio.
About this Event

Join us for this year’s Fall Fungi Festival, a two-day, one-night celebration of all things mushrooms!

Dive into hands on inoculation workshops, guided hikes with mushroom enthusiast, engaging fungus forays, family-friendly activities, mushroom dehydration demos, overnight camping, and so much more.

This is a welcoming, inclusive event for anyone curious about mushrooms and the natural world. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned forager, you’ll find something to inspire you, and a community to connect with.

Hosted at the beautiful Tenderfoot Learning Lab, the festival takes place in a richly biodiverse environment, nestled within mixed mesophytic forests. Wander three miles of trails among towering pines, oaks, poplars, maples, beech, sassafras, and the occasional hemlock and sycamore in shaded ravines.

Throughout the weekend, enjoy a marketplace of nature-inspired artists and makers sharing their work. Come for the mushrooms, stay for the magic!

*Parking!

Parking for the event is offsite. Follow signage from Tenderfoot Learning Lab for parking in nearby field. Access from parking to festival grounds is a 0.25 mile walk along a well marked trail connecting the properties. Walking along the road is not permitted! Coordinates of the entrance to the parking area are 39.337791, -82.220574. There will be signage to direct you accordingly.

A FREE shuttle service will be running on October 11th and 12th from 9am-11am Saturday and Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon from 2:30-4pm.

Kids aged 12 and under are free!

*Food!

Participants are welcome and encouraged to bring their own food and beverages to enjoy throughout the festival weekend. Please note that glass containers are not permitted.

Lunch with the Chef: A Culinary Demo and Meal

Join us for two interactive lunchtime cooking classes led by local chefs on Saturday and Sunday. These hands-on demonstrations will provide attendees with new culinary skills and provide them with a delicious fungi lunch.

The Woodland Table: A Dinner in the Woods

Gather around the table beneath the trees for a special evening celebrating the flavors of the forest, local agriculture, and Appalachian food traditions.

Chef Katie Mosher and Zach Shornick will host this special woodland dinner, preparing a hearty, fungi-inspired meal that highlights local ingredients and the creative ways mushrooms can take center stage.

Enjoy a delicious meal surrounded by the sights and sounds of the forest while connecting with fellow fungi enthusiasts and celebrating the incredible foods that can be grown, gathered, and inspired by Southeast Ohio.

Menu:

Local Greens
Shagbark Chips
Rice
Shagbark Black Beans
Birria-Style Mushrooms from a Local Farm
Salsa featuring Local Ingredients, as Available
Local Cheese

Please note: Food programs require an additional ticket that can be purchased during online registration. A limited number of tickets will also be held for sale in-person at the event.

2026 Schedule "In Progress"

We are excited to share that we will be providing complimentary Saturday day passes to the Fall Fungi Festival for musically inclined individuals who bring an instrument and are eager to perform around a campfire on the evening of Saturday October 17th at 9 PM. If you would like to participate, please reach out to Tourism Manager Madison Donohue at [email protected] to receive your promotional code.

Saturday October 17th