$500 scholarships to be awarded to 23 local high school graduating seniors

Morgan Hill Life file photo
Two girls check out the mushrooms during the 2014 Mushroom Mardi Gras. The event has been renamed the Morgan Hill Mushroom Festival.

By Marty Cheek

The annual celebration of mushrooms in Morgan Hill is back this year, but with a new name and a more upscale atmosphere. Previously known as the Mushroom Mardi Gras, the fungi gala has been rebranded simply as the Morgan Hill Mushroom Festival.

“We’re trying to up the vendors for the spenders,” said Dan Keith, president of the festival association, describing the rebranding. “We want a little more classy event. It was a great festival while it lasted, but being a free and open festival just drew in too many freeloaders and a bad element. That’s why we dropped the name ‘Mardi Gras’ to get away from that Mardi Gras party atmosphere.”

Keith said organizers aim to elevate the classiness and provide guests with a high-quality experience this year. “We’re trying to make it more of an arts and crafts festival than a party festival. We want to up the value of the experience for our guests.”

Morgan Hill Life file photo
Mardi the Mushroom visits with attendees at a previous event.

In line with that goal, the festival will feature top-notch musical entertainment at the Amphitheater Stage, including a performance 5:15 p.m. Saturday May 25 by Hotel California, an Eagles tribute band. The Party Starters, a dance band from San Francisco, will perform at 4 p.m. Sunday May 26.

Musicians on Saturday include: Ann Sobrato Jazz Ensemble, Barrett School Singers, Soul Kiss, Superbad, and Groove Ride. On Sunday: Fog City Swampers, Luv Bomb, and The Money Band.

Safety and security are a top priority, especially in light of the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting in 2019. The entire event will be enclosed with fencing, thanks in large part to the support of Frank Leal, who owns a fencing business.

“He was great with a sponsorship,” Keith said. “It’s very generous of him.”

The festival’s security company will attend a security seminar in San Diego as required by the Morgan Hill Police Department to ensure the event is as safe as possible.

“We’ll keep safety in mind,” Keith emphasized. “My priority is to protect the public and put on a good festival.”

One of the main purposes of the Mushroom Festival is to raise money for scholarships for local high school seniors. This year, $500 scholarships will be awarded to 23 students at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Amphitheater Stage.

“That’s our main mission here,” Keith said. “That’s the whole point of keeping this festival alive today. It shows that we can give these high school seniors scholarships.”

He acknowledged that the festival had to cut back on scholarships this year due to the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Usually we give out $1,000 scholarships, but after coming out of COVID, this is new to us because we’re having to downsize and charge for admissions,” he said. “There’s high security costs. This is our first year of doing this as a festival in a closed, paid admission environment.”

Despite the changes, Keith believes the community is eager to come together and celebrate.

“People are itching to get out,” he said. “Everyone I’ve been talking to is saying, ‘We can’t wait for the festival. Yay! We get to get outside.'”

The Western Mushroom Growers Association (WMGA) is a major sponsor of this year’s festival and will play a key role in educating attendees about the fun of fungi.

“The WMGA has been involved in the Mushroom Festival for more than 30 years and are privileged to be the sponsors,” said Roberto Ramirez, president of the WMGA. “We have been educating people on the growing and usage of mushrooms as well . . . This year we will be going one or maybe two steps further by introducing the medicinal/health benefits of the mushroom.”

Festival-goers can look forward to mushroom growing bags for purchase, cooking demonstrations with samples, and Cordyceps Kombucha to try.

“This is how we get our story out there . . . The mushroom is a very quiet fungi,” Ramirez said. “We can’t wait . . .  It’s going to be so much fun and there will be many mushroom vendors this year.”

The Mushroom Festival will take place May 25 and 26 at the Morgan Hill Community Center. General admission is $20, seniors/military is $17, and kids younger than 15 are free. Look in the program inserted in the May 1-14, 2024 Morgan Hill Life for coupons to get $5 off admissions.
The festival needs people to get involved with various activities including ticket taking. Those interested in volunteering call (408) 778-1786 or email [email protected] to learn more about helping a great cause.