Special Events
The Telluride Mushroom Festival is known for its array of unique and lively events. Special Events are an experience of their own and provide a deeper, more intimate dive with our festival presenters. Special Events are a separate purchase to your Festival Pass – please make sure to not purchase 2 workshops happening at the same time.
The information below was for the 2023 festival, please check back in the spring when details for 2024 special events will be released!

FESTIVAL DINNER: Wild Foods Dinner
Hosted by: Katrina Blair
Location: AhHaa – SkyDeck / Rooftop
Date: Friday | August 18th, 2023
Time: 5-8pm
Price: $150
The Wild Foods Demo has become one of the most popular events at TMF to come together and learn about all things edible foods. Join us this year at the Brand New Ah Haa school rooftop patio for a night of new tastes, cooking techniques and the mysticism of wild foods with our favorite wild foodist, Katrina Blair.

PRE FEST DINNER: Hongos en la Mesa
Hosted by: Graham Steinruck and John SirJesse
Location: Wilson Mesa House – Stunning 360 views of the San Juans
Date: Wednesday | August 16th, 2023
Time: 4:30 – 8:00pm
Price: $275
Welcome to our newest rendition of the VIP Dinner now transformed into Hongos en la Mesa. We will be returning for 2023 and featuring many types of choice edible fungi in our mushroom themed tapas and providing Myco-centric libations and conversation. This will be followed by a three course meal prepared by chefs Graham, and John Sir Jesse, at a private residence high up on the mesa of the Wilson Mountains. Directions will be given to all attendees closer to this event. The drive is 20-30 min outside Telluride. We’ll see you there!

PRE FEST DINNER: Fungi Conservation Fundraiser: A Foraged Dinner and Auction with the Fungal Diversity Survey
Hosted by: FunDiS at the home of Peter Waldor, Gabriel Waldor, and Lisa Allee
Location: Trout Lake, CO 20 min outside Telluride
Date: Wednesday | August 16th, 2023
Time: 6 – 8pm
Price: $185
Join Chefs Tara Norvell and Phoebe Tran for an evening of drinks and fungal delights foraged from the mountains of Colorado. After drinks on the deck, we’ll be cooking whatever was found in the wild — plus some more! Stay for the art auction led by auctioneer John Michelotti in which all proceeds benefit fungal conservation in North America.

PRE FEST WORKSHOP: Natural dye and botanical printing with plants, mushroom and lichen
Taught by Mayumi Fujio
Location: AhHaa – Room TBD
Date: Wednesday | August 16th, 2023
Time: 9:00am – 1:30pm
Price: $105
Botanical eco printing uses real leaf and flowers along with minerals to transfer natural colors and shapes from plants onto fiber. It is like printing a photo directly from the leaves to the fabric. You will go home with 1 beautiful silk scarf dyed with natural colors.
Schedule: (timing may change!)
9:00 – 10:30 Introduction and theory to botanical printing and fabric preparation
10:30 – 11:30 botanical and lichen dye
11:30 – 12:30 lunch
12:30 – 1:30 Opening the bundles and cleaning up

PRE FEST WORKSHOP: Amanita Muscaria
Hands on Preparations for Microdosing and Topical Applications
Taught by: Irene Dubin and Tradd Cotter
Location: AhHaa Skydeck/Rooftop
Date: Wednesday | August 16th, 2023
Time: 1pm-4pm
Price: $150
Join Irene Dubin, psychedelic psychotherapist of the Blue Portal, for an amazing immersion workshop discussing the many functional aspects of Muhkomor, the “Fly Agaric”, Amanita muscaria. Irene will discuss case studies, specific conditions, and provide the materials and mushrooms to accurately formulate microdosing capsules, salves, and tinctures. Everyone will participate by helping and learning from the process as well as taking home what we make in class!

PRE FEST EVENT: Early Bird Foray with Britt Bunyard
Lead by: Britt Bunyard
Date: Wednesday | August 16th, 2023
Time: 10am – 2pm
Price: $125
Join our Executive Director and special guest mycologist’s to go on the first adventure into the San Juan National Forest of the week! This is the only foray Britt will give. Learn from his experience foraging and ways to find, identify and think about mushrooms. A truly in depth experience with one of the best field mycologists.

Special Event : Wild Edibles Foray with Katrina Blair
Lead by: Katrina Blair
Date: Saturday | August 19th, 2023
Time: 9 – 11am
Price: $125
This is your chance to take a walk around the woods with expert forager Katrina Blair. See the forest through her eyes and learn all that you can pick and eat. Katrina Blair is a festival long time presenter and friend, her knowledge of wild edibles and articulation of our relationship to the natural world will leave you with so much knowledge and excitement to continue your journey long after this festival experience. Foray will depart from Telluride on Saturday and is back plenty before the parade festivities begin.

PRE FEST WORKSHOP: Cultivation of Sacred Mushrooms for Personal Use
Instructor: Tradd Cotter
Location: AhHaa Skydeck/Rooftop
Date: Wednesday | August 16th, 2023
Time: 9am-12pm
Price: $150
Cakes, monotubs, and outdoor culture…all in one half day! Join author and owner of the Blue Portal, Tradd Cotter, as he perfects your expertise in cultivating sacred mushrooms for personal use. Participants will learn basic tissue culture, different techniques that fit your situation, and everyone will be leaving with a spore syringe to get started! Even experienced growers will find some amazing tips to expand your knowledge of this incredible group of fungi.

PRE FEST WORKSHOP: Mycoremediation
Instructor: Dr. Lauren Czaplicki
Location: AhHaa – Transformation Studio
Date: Wednesday | August 16th, 2023
Time: 9am – 12pm
Price: $105
Come and learn about mycoremediation from a pioneer in the field, Dr. Lauren Czaplicki, before the Telluride Mushroom Festival kicks off! Start thinking like a “fungi or fun-gal” and explore all things mycoremediation through an interactive mix of lectures, facilitated discussions, and fun group activities- you’ll walk away with a nifty guidebook too! This workshop will equip you with new perspectives and knowledge about how to tailor mycoremediation applications to site and pollutant characteristics!
Perfect for the casual mycophile and the mycoremediation enthusiast alike, this class begins by delving into mycoremediation’s origins, the hidden capacity of your favorite mushrooms, and the challenges of polluted sites.
This workshop will also cover mycoremediation potential of fungi beyond wood rotters, potential strategies to coax fungi to detoxify sites, and how fungi might be important allies to fight climate change! If you ever thought “fungi have all this potential, why aren’t they focused on?” this is the class for you! If you’ve just found out that fungi can break down toxins, this class is for you, too. Come tap into your “fun-gi” or “fun-gal” intuition and bring ideas back to sites in your hometown.
The only class of its kind, taught personally by subject matter expert Dr. Lauren Czaplicki, this workshop will leave you bursting with ideas of how to revitalize your town using the powers of all the fungi!

PRE FEST WORKSHOP: Cooking w/ Mushrooms with Chadd Hyatt
Chef: Chadd Hyatt
Location: AhHaa – Culinary Room
Date: Wednesday | August 16th, 2023
Time: 10am – 2pm
Price: $150
Join chef Chad Hyatt, author of The Mushroom Hunter’s Kitchen, for a fun, small group learning event. In this three hour long, hands-on workshop, you will learn to prepare 5 different mushroom-based dishes, and, of course, get to eat them, too. The focus is on having participants work through the recipes with guidance from the chef, so they can feel confident executing the dishes at home by themselves.