At the New York Fungus Festival, mycophiles gathered to drink mushroom ale, sniff soil-scented perfume and, of course, admire some fungi.
Mushrooms are having quite a moment — especially this one.Credit…Ye Fan for The New York Times
Supported by
On a temperate fall afternoon, Vito Vacirca sported a black Borsalino fedora lined with dried turkey-tail mushrooms and violet-tinted sunglasses, a second pair of shades dangling from the neck of his “Fungus Among Us” sweatshirt. He surveyed the display table before him, where there were dozens of recently scavenged mushrooms, including beach-ball-size puffballs the shade of exhumed skulls and foamlike, egg yellow chicken of the woods. He smiled. A stranger then took a photo of him.
“I should have brought my mushroom glasses,” Mr. Vacirca, 75, said wryly.
Last weekend, he was among about 2,000 mycophiles exploring the eclectic joys of mushrooms at the New York Fungus Festival on Randall’s Island in Manhattan. There were many tented stations, where vendors sold mushroom wares and specialists — artists, scientists, urban farmers — delivered mycology-themed demonstrations.
At the exhibits, attendees in sweaters and hiking boots lingered, sometimes piling into each other. They ran their fingers over yarn stained with fungal dyes, gasped at glowing mushrooms and listened to presentations about the lichen of Central Park. Teenagers played Super Mario Kart on a console made of mycelium grown in a plastic mold as indie rock music blasted from speakers made with the same material.
Fungal brooches, earrings and sweatshirts abounded. Envious onlookers in more conventional garb could scurry to the costume corner, where they could glue felt polka dots on their own custom mushroom berets.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Advertisement
New York Fungus Festival: the Wild and Wonderful World of Mushrooms – The New York Times
