Mushroom show draws 1,000 fans to Everett October 11, 2010 - seattletimes.com
The Snohomish County Mycological Society showcased 240 varieties of mushrooms at Floral Hall in Everett's Forest Park on Sunday

The scene was straight out of "Alice in Wonderland."
Mushrooms, measuring millimeters to meters, bright orange with warts, purple and soft, brown and button-shaped, were laid out to touch and smell.
More than 200 varieties were showcased at the Snohomish County Mycological Society's annual mushroom show in Everett on Sunday. For almost four decades, mushroom aficionados have shared their passion for the delicious, and sometimes hallucinogenic and deadly, delicacy. Sunday drew the largest crowd ever for the annual event, close to 1,000 from all over the Seattle area, organizers said.
"A mushroom is a mushroom," said 14-year-old Sophie Miller, who came to complete a high-school-biology assignment. "But then I come here, and there's six tables full of types. I never knew there could be so many."
Amanita muscaria was one of the most beautiful, bright orange with warts and highly hallucinogenic and toxic. Yellow Chanterelle was a favorite among fungi fans. Found in conifer woods, it has an almost apricot flavor and is best fried in butter or dehydrated into a powder and made into gravy over mashed potatoes. Then, there's the poisonous Gymnopolis spectabilis, whose mustard color and long stem resembles the less toxic Phaeolepiota aurea. Finally, there are many with medicinal properties, such as Maitake, which supposedly can cure early stages of diabetes.
Kurt Hoenack was on hand, teaching attendees how to grow mushrooms. Dressed in a bright-yellow tie-dyed shirt with mushroom print, he sells 18 varieties to local restaurants, including those of legendary Seattle chef Tom Douglas.
"I'm a mushroom freak, so I needed a mushroom shirt," said Hoenack, 57, whose store Grandview Mushroom Farm sells varieties in Pike Place in the summertime.
All of the mushrooms displayed for the show were picked this past weekend, in Aberdeen, Leavenworth, Mt. Baker, Darrington and Shelton. Some were found in the woods, off trees and roads. There were even mushrooms growing on the roof of the show building, Floral Hall in Everett's Forest Park.
The organization, made up of 300 participants from their early-20s to 80s, gives lessons and holds an annual tongue-in-cheek "survivor banquet" to celebrate everyone who made it through the year without getting poisoned.
"You have to identify them 100 percent," said Igor Malcevki, who has been part of the society for the past 30 years. "It's what keeps you alive."
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