2026 Mushroom Market Tent & Foodways Stage
All mushroom related activities at the festival will be held in the large tent at the corner of Broadway and Court Street, behind the Courthouse in Irvine. This is why we’re here, folks, come check it out and learn everything you can about The Marvelous Morel!
Educational panels on morel mushroom hunting in Estill County will be on display. A natural habitat terrarium containing the elusive morel will also be on display.
The Mushroom Photo Stand will be close to the Mushroom Tent on Broadway. Get a picture made to show that you were at the festival!
The Mushroom Market
Saturday, April 25 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Sunday, April 26 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Looking for fresh morels? Mushroom hunters bring mushrooms to the market to sell and set the price per pound. Various types of mushrooms, such as morels, shiitakes, and oysters, can be sold. Availability is dependent on the amount that local hunters bring to the mushroom market tent. Scales will be used to weigh the mushrooms. A “Mushroom Hunting Field Guide” will be sold at the market.
Mushroom Hunting Contest Judging
Saturday, April 25 at 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 25 at 4 p.m. Prizes of $50 for the largest and $50 for the most mushrooms will be awarded by Estill County Soil Conservation. The contest gives individuals a chance to put their hunting skills to the test to find the most and largest. Hunters go out individually, often to their secret hiding spots, to find the elusive morels. When the morels are brought to the Mushroom Market Tent they are weighed and measured by length and gird. The weights and measurements are recorded and compared to award the hunter who brings in the largest and the hunter who has found the most mushrooms.
Mushroom Hunting Bags
Mushroom Hunting Bags will be available for sale at the market! The bag is soft and lightweight, yet sturdy, with belt loops, comfortable handles, and an adjustable shoulder strap. The shoulder strap adjusts to fit your comfort level and keeps your hands free. The mesh “Shroom Sack” is 19.5” wide by 17” deep. The bottom is gusseted to expand with your increasing bounty. The nylon mesh gently holds and aerates your harvest to keep bacterial growth to a minimum while maximizing the escape of spores and allows debris and critters to escape. The bag folds in its own self-storing 6.5” by 8” pouch which has been personalized with “Mountain Mushroom Fest, Irvine, KY”.
The Foodways Stage Schedule
The Foodways (food traditions) Stage will feature several activities from cooking demonstrations with different varieties of mushrooms to interviews with hunters and growers and mushroom log inoculations
Saturday, April 25th
9:00 a.m. | Mushroom Market opens
10 a.m. – Noon | Cake Decorating Contest Entry
10:00 a.m. | Mushroom Chef Jr. with Cass Curtis & Michael Childers (Breaded and Fried Mushrooms)
11:30 a.m. | Chef Chrystian Lyons with the Commonwealth Kitchen food trailer (Sticky Asian Style sautéed mushrooms)
Noon | Cake Decorating Judging
Noon – 1:00 p.m. | Cook-Off Contest Entry
12:30 p.m. | Cake Decorating Winners Announced
1:00 p.m. | Cook-Off Judging
1:45 p.m. | Cook-Off Winners Announced
2:00 p.m. | Mother/Daughter duo: Tina Caroland & Joan Murphy (Traditional Breaded and Fried Morels)
3:00 p.m. | Whitney Johnson, The Appalachian Forager, author, & social media influencer. (Workshop on finding, cooking morels, and Foraging Food for Fun!)
4:00 p.m. | Mushroom Hunting Contest Winner Announcement/Interviews
4:30 p.m. | Happy Wooten (Wilted Greens with Cornbread Breaded Mushrooms and Wild Foraged Ramps)
7:00 p.m. | Mushroom Market closes
Sunday, April 26th
10:00 a.m. | Mushroom Market opens
Noon | Kim Gill and Maya Lainhart, Lionheart Local: Wild Turkey and Morel Stroganoff
1:30 p.m. | John Allen, local chiropractor and Foodways stage chairman: Morel Rarebit
2:30 p.m. | Alex Babich and Robin Reed: Mushroom Workshop
5:00 p.m. | Mushroom Market closes