‘Passport to Kingdom Fungi’ (and Much More Mycellium) at Santa Cruz Mountain Mushroom Festival

April 22, 2025—So much happens in the sphere of mushrooms—seen and unseen, dramatic and subtle, delicious and deadly—that it approaches otherworldly.

At least that’s how Dr. Gordon Walter, sees it, no psilocybin needed. He wrote the book on mushrooms, literally, with his forthcoming Passport to Kingdom Fungi. (More on that in a moment.) 

“Fungi are the glue that hold this planet together, and I observe something there about interconnectedness,” he says. “In many ways, mushrooms are enigmatic, inscrutable, we don’t see the roles they play for us, and—in an abstract way—that feels spiritual. When we start to dive into it, that makes the magic much more special to see how it works.”

At the Santa Cruz Mountain Mushroom Festival, May 3-4 at Roaring Camp in Felton, Walker complements  a wide-ranging slate of presentations, panels, cooking demos, workshops, hands-on activities and talks amid the redwoods that explore that vastness. 

Jonny Black (Chez Noir, Carmel), Jessica Yarr White (The Grove Cafe & Bakery, Felton), Mat Schuster (Canela Bistro Bar, San Francisco), and Gus Trejo (Jack O’Neill Restaurant, Santa Cruz) will all appear, and that’s only a few of the chefs.

They’ll be joined by mycologists, cookbook authors, experts and more. A few highlights, which come loaded with luminaries, to consider: A medicinal mushroom talk from Christopher Hobbs; a nature walk with Cindy Li; foraging stories with David Arora; a “Fire and Fungi” panel with Maya Elson and Jeff Ravage; and cultivation tutorials hosted by Bay Area Applied Mycology (BAAM), MycoLove, and Field & Forest.

Plus there’s live music from acts like Trianna Feruza, and Michael Hammer & the Nails, plus two pre-festival showcase events at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. 

The first happens this Thursday, April 24, with the official release of Walker’s new book at a launch party at the San Francisco Ferry Building. the launch party from 5:30 – 8:30 pm (learn more and RSVP here). 

Then, on April 26, forager-adventurer-cookbook Maria Finn—another Edible favorite profiled with the spotlight on her eponymous cookbook-field guide “Forage.Gather. Feast.”—will lead a Foodwise cooking showcase during the Ferry Building’s weekly farmers market.

Passport to Kingdom Fungi arose from a personal thirst for its author. Walker, after studying

“When I started learning about mushrooms, struggled to find book with all the information I wanted,” he says. “I wanted to dive deep, through more than foraging or science, but in broader context, so I wrote the book I wanted. The word Passport is intentional, [as] I’m hoping it can be that portal, your ticket to ride, that touches on every aspect of mushroom in the world as much as possible.”

I planned on skimming the galleys of the book his publisher provided, and ended up well past my budgeted time marveling at artful diagrams that I hope Walker et al some day transform into poster-sized possibilities.

“I aspired to make it easy enough for a beginner to read, and deep enough that they continue to go back to it throughout their learning journey,” he says. “It’s a tool, a resource. Often you write a book, and people read it, and it sits on a shelf. I want people to wear out the binding, to write notes in the margins.”

Then he laughs, adding, “To the distress of my publisher, there’s not a lot of empty room left to do that.” 

The density of his book, and the programming in the Santa Cruz Mountains for the mushroom festival itself, trace back to the power of underduff understanding, and the humility and awe that accompanies.

“When you see how complex [the mycelium network] is, you gain greater appreciation,” Walter says. “Can you design this? F** no, you can’t. It evolved over millions of years, and reached this very special equilibrium.

“I don’t necessarily think there’s a higher power guiding this, but in understanding fungi, there’s something special about the driving nature of how mushrooms have shaped life on this planet that is worth thinking about.”

More at scmmfest.com.