2023 FESTIVAL DETAILS

Learn about mycology from the best! Every year the Telluride Mushroom Festival features a variety of talks from over 30 speakers. The Telluride Mushroom Festival is famous for its array of unique and lively events, including: Wild Food Dinner Experience, Mushroom Chefs’ Dinner, Entheogenic Gourd Circles, Open Mic Night, MycoLicious MycoLuscious MycoLogical Poetry Show and our Free Identification Tent. We have showings of new fungi movies, panel discussions over treatment using psychedelics and decriminalization of psilocybin containing mushrooms. Our many special guests are happy to take you on a mycology adventure out into the forest in the beautiful alpine around Telluride! If you are interested in mushrooming in Telluride, Gary Lincoff’s Telluride Mushroom Checklist is a must-read.

What Can you Expect at the Festival?
In essence, The Telluride Mushroom Fest is changing and growing, but how?! With more and more interest every year, how do we want to sustainably change and grow as a festival? Our main desire is to pursue growth by creating depth, authenticity, and community connection.

This year our goal is to create additional spaces to facilitate connection through conversation, sharing circles, expert-guided forays, and experience-based workshops with less long-format lectures. Our intention is to partner with more aligned sponsors to support the festival with the intention to keep festival prices from increasing.

Forays and outdoor activities
In addition to doubling our forays we will be providing outdoor workshops and new outdoor venue spaces! The free activities such as our mushroom ID tent, vendor booths, and some outdoor free workshop demonstrations are a must see.

The Parade
The parade is a favorite among festival goers. Be sure to bring your best costume making skills to the parade or prepare in advance. We collect 1000’s of mushroom fans and shut down Main Street in Telluride to a band and dancers and march to the sound of mushroom cheers. This all culminates in a wild drum circle at the end of town, where drumming and dancing goes into the evening.

Special Event Tickets
Special Events such as the Wild Foods Dinner and other larger gatherings are on for 2023! These tickets (which are extra above a full festival pass) will be available for purchase, and are sold individually per event, on our Passes page.

Festival Map

Festival Venues

• Sheridan Opera House & SHOW Bar – This is where you can find the Festival Hospitality Desk and where many presentations will be hosted, including the Poetry Show, Myco-Beer Launch party, Band Performances and much more! This venue is in the center of town at the corner of Colorado (Main Street) and Oak Street. The SHOW Bar is on the first floor of the historic Sheridan Opera House. Our authors of the spore book signing can be found at the SHOW Bar. google map | venue website
• Elks Park – The Mushroom Festival home! This is where you can find Registration (under the massive tent). We also have Vendor booths, Mushroom ID Tent, Outdoor Workshops and the like. Elks Park is across from the Courthouse (clock tower) at West Colorado & Oak Street.  google map
• Palm Theatre  – Our biggest seated venue, this is where we host all keynote talks, larger presentations and any movie screenings. This venue is next to Telluride Intermediate & High Schools.  google map | venue website
• Ah Haa School for the Arts – Home to our pre-festival workshops. google map | venue website

Parking
Up-to-date and accurate information is best retrieved from the Town of Tellurides’ website.

Telluride to Mountain Village Gondola
Staying in Mountain Village? This is just an easy 13min Gondola ride from town. Find information about the Gondola, getting around Telluride, and more info HERE.

Lodging & Camping Around Telluride
There are different options for staying in Telluride, CO. Because of the size of Telluride, there are not any large hotel chains. If you are traveling with a group you can rent houses that can comfortably hold 10 attendees.

Camping
Please keep in mind, some of these campgrounds require reservations way in advance and some do not. Please look into the campground you are thinking of and plan ahead. While there are dispersed spots with limited facilities, many people prefer having campground amenities.

Camping in Telluride
Many people prefer camping in Telluride because of the gorgeous scenery and community vibe.  The best resource for camping information is the Town of Telluride’s website. For 2023, The town of Telluride has announced that they will be opening up reservations sometime after March 1st. Click here to be redirected to our home page where you can sign up for email announcements. We will let remind you when the campsites ‘go live.’ Please keep in mind that typically they get reserved right away – so you want to be on site immediately after they are released.

Camping around Telluride
Outside of town there is camping at several Forest Service campgrounds. Information about these campgrounds can be found here. You can also try this link to find free campsites. There are no private campgrounds in the Telluride area. The closest Colorado State Park to Telluride is Ridgway State Park.

Camping Lizard Head and Rico
Check out areas around Rico and Lizard head. To name just few campgrounds south of Telluride, check out Sunshine Campground, Matterhorn Campground, Cayton Campground, Lazy Rooster Ranch, Priest Gulch.

Camping around Ouray
Information about Forest Service campground around Ouray can be found here. Information on private campgrounds around Ouray can be found here. There is a KOA near Ouray.

Telluride
Information about Telluride, CO, including food, activities, events, and weather can be found at Visit Telluride.

How to Get to Telluride
Telluride is located in the Southwest corner of Colorado in a picturesque San Juan Mountain box canyon. The spirit of the American West thrives here in Telluride – from the first hardy pioneers to today’s hardy locals, we take immense pride in our small town and we know that once you’re here, you’ll fall for its charm as well. We are undoubtedly a little remote – but staying off the beaten track ensures the town remains unblemished and unique in Colorado.

By Plane
Telluride, Colorado has its own airport, Telluride Regional Airport (TEX). The airport is located five miles from Telluride’s downtown business district. You can rent a car from Hertz or take Mountain Limo into town. Mountain limo is $20 per person with a 2 person minimum.

Most people fly into Montrose which is usually the more cost effective solution. From Montrose, you can either rent a car or take Telluride Express for $70 per person into the town of Telluride.

• Telluride Regional Airport is 10-15 minutes from downtown Telluride.
• Montrose Regional Airport is 1.5 hours from Telluride.
• The Durango La Plata County Airport is 2.5 hours from Telluride.
• The Grand Junction Airport is 2.5 hours from Telluride.
• The Cortez Airport is 79 miles, 2 hours from Telluride.

2022 Telluride Mushroom Festival FAQs

When is the Festival?
The festival dates are August 16 – 20, 2023. Pre-Festival activities that are a separate ticket purchase will start on Wednesday August 16th. Registration and accessing your pass will be on Thursday August 17th at 9am.

Where is the Festival located?
Telluride, Colorado. The main happenings are in Elks Park and the Sheridan Opera House. We have links to google maps of these locations under the ‘Navigate the Fsstival’ tab so you can get an idea where vendor village will be.

Where will lectures and presentations be held?
See the ‘Navigate the Festival’ tab for details.

All about FORAYS

• Forays will be going out daily from August 17th-20th. Information on Forays and sign ups will be at registration tent during the festival dates.
• Sign up for forays will be day before and spots will be limited. Sign up starts at 9am for the next day.
• Forays meet at Carhenge parking lot by Chair 7 of the ski area, and will go out at the specified time on the sign in sheet. You will need to go out with the group you sign up for the day before
• On Thursday, because there is not a day before to sign up – will be a first come first serve foray show up. Once you’ve received your wristband you can sign up for the foray going out starting at 10am that morning.

Tickets & Passes
Information on special event tickets, festival passes and links to purchase are available on our Passes page. Only tickets purchased off our website or the Humanitix site will be accepted at the festival.

Where can I view the Schedule?
Find links to our online schedule here. Schedule and presenters are subject to change.

What are the types of Festival Events?
The Telluride Mushroom Festival has three different kinds of event types listed in this year’s program.

1. Free Events: Listed in GREEN and are free-to-the-public events (no charge)
   • These include Mushroom ID Tent, Parade, free outdoor workshops, vendor booth viewing, and other TBD events.
2. Full Festival Pass Holder Events: These will be included in the purchase of a full festival pass. Some of these events may have limited space available. Be sure to view the schedule online to better plan for arriving to your favorite workshops, lectures and forays on time.
   • These events include:
     • Forays hosted by our top Mycologists, Presenters and festival staff
     • Lectures/Presentations from National and International acclaimed researchers, mycologist and people in Mushroom, Fungi and the like.
     • Poetry Night lead by our very own Art Goodtimes.
     • Mushroom/Entheogenic Gourd sessions
     • Mushroom Cooking demonstrations
3. Special Events: These are premium events that are not included in the full festival pass and have a fee associated with them. They often have limited space and require separate registration on our Eventbrite Page.

What does the queue system look like for 2023?

Lectures and presentations will be first come first served until we reach capacity for each venue. Please come early to ensure you get a spot. For forays, signups will be at the registration desk at 9am each morning for the next day.

Can I purchase a day pass or entry to a single lecture?
Yes, single day tickets will be available during the festival you can purchase at registration.

Will we have locals discount tickets?

Yes, we will be

Where can I buy special event tickets?
Special Event Tickets (LIMITED) are released May 1st. Event details and ticket sales can be found on our Passes page.

What is the difference between ‘Passes’ and ‘Tickets’?

• Full Festival Pass: Gains attendees access to all main paid and free festival events listed on the schedule. DOES NOT INCLUDE “SPECIAL EVENTS”.
• Special Event Tickets: Are sold separately and are limited. Special Event tickets will be announced and released on a separate and later date than the full Festival Pass.

Does signing up on Sched save my spot in line for events?
No. This just allows our Pass Holder attendees to make a list of events of what they WOULD LIKE to attend. ALL PASS HOLDERS MUST show up to the event venue and wait in the Queue line to be admitted. For Special Events – YOU MUST PURCHASE YOUR TICKET TO GAIN ADMITTANCE TO THE SPECIAL EVENT.

What is the Refund/Transfer policy?
Full Festival Passes and Special Event Tickets are refundable through Humanitix until 30 days before the Festival begins for 80% of the purchase price. They are transferrable to other people if you need to sell your ticket.

What are the locations for special events?
Most special events will be in the Town of Telluride this year. All within walking distance or a short drive.

Volunteers & Vendors
Volunteer & Vendor Applications will be closed on April 1, 2023 for this years festival. Please fill out a contact form for your prospective request on the “get involved” page.

Parade
The parade is on Saturday and starts in the afternoon. Bring your best costume or attend one of our costume making workshops. The Parade begins in front of the courthouse and ends at the town park where a drummers circle and dancing lasts into the evening.

THE HISTORY OF MUSHROOM FESTIVAL

Telluride Mushroom Festival’s roots span back to the 1970s when Beth Israel Hospital sponsored an academic conference in Aspen, CO. The festival focused on mushroom identification and included lectures on mushroom poisoning treatment and diagnosis.

In 1981, Dr. Emanuel Salzman, founder of Fungophile, Inc. and co-founder of the Aspen Mushroom Conference moved to Telluride. The Telluride Mushroom Festival was born with the creative energy of: Manny and Joanne Salzman, Gary Lincoff, Andrew Weil, Paul Stamets, the Gillmans, the Adams, Art Goodtimes, and John Sir Jesse.

Since then, the Festival has hosted Nobel Prize laureates, anthropologists, medical doctors, professors, psychonauts, writers, chemists, thought-leaders, religious leaders, and others famous in their respective fields. It is a weekend of mycology-related forays, talks and special events and is famous for the lively experience it provides all festival goers and participants.