Southwest Funga Fest 2025: Tucson Mushroom Festival Focuses on Fungi Education and Sustainability

Festival Overview and Mission

Southwest Funga Fest 2025, a three-day mushroom festival, is set for Aug. 1–3 at Second Sky in Tucson. The event’s mission is rooted in mycology education, citizen science, ethical foraging and sustainability. Organizers describe it as an eco-conscious, community-oriented gathering focused on fungi cultivation, wild mushroom identification, permaculture, and earth stewardship. Attendees can immerse themselves in hands-on workshops, guided foraging hikes and expert talks on all things fungal. The festival weaves together science and culture – from mushroom cultivation classes to breathwork and herbal wellness sessions – celebrating fungi’s role in food, medicine and ecology.

The goal is to grow a regional mycology community through education and connection. Guests will learn, dance, forage and become part of a growing fungi movement rooted in healing and transformation. Funga Fest fosters a deeper understanding of fungi and their ecological importance. More than 20 classes and workshops led by top mycology experts are on the schedule. Topics range from mushroom farming and cooking demonstrations to microscopy and citizen-science projects in the on-site lab.

Venue and Sustainability Initiatives at Second Sky

The festival takes place at Second Sky, a new science garden and social club. This multi-acre indoor-outdoor venue features event spaces, a community playground, STEAM education zones and a food and beverage destination. Second Sky’s mission aligns with the regenerative spirit of Funga Fest, making it an ideal host location. The site is roughly 10 minutes from Tucson International Airport and offers on-site parking (attendees are encouraged to carpool).

Sustainability is a core focus. Organizers aim for a zero waste event with robust recycling and composting programs. Attendees are asked to leave no trace and participate in the ECO Hub waste sorting stations. A unique “Dishcoteca” dish recycling program is in place to eliminate disposable plates and utensils. Festival-goers are encouraged to bring their own reusable cup, bowl and silverware. A dishwashing station will be available, and those without their own dishes can purchase a dish voucher to borrow reusable dishware on site. By returning and washing the borrowed dishes, attendees receive their voucher back for next use. These efforts help the Southwest Funga Fest team make the event as close to zero-waste as possible. Potable water refill stations will be provided to reduce single-use bottles.

Basic facilities are covered despite the rustic setting. The venue will have indoor restrooms and four portable toilets to accommodate guests. On-site camping is available for attendees throughout the weekend. Campers can bring tents and small portable stoves for cooking at their campsites. (Open campfires are strictly prohibited for safety.) Each night, festival-goers can sleep under the desert stars at Second Sky, allowing full participation in early-morning classes and late-night music.

Day 1 Highlights (Friday, Aug. 1)

Friday’s programming opens with wellness activities to ground attendees for the day. Early morning yoga or qigong sessions help participants feel centered and ready. The MainStage then kicks off educational talks. Noted mycologist Andrew Classen leads a session on mushroom hunting in North America, sharing tips for beginners and seasoned foragers alike. Later on the MainStage, Tyler Hacking delivers a keynote entitled “Mysterious Morchella – Rocky Mountain Morel Mushroom Habitat Ecology,” exploring the science behind morel mushroom foraging. Hacking is a citizen scientist known for expertise in elusive morels and fungal biodiversity.

Workshops and talks run concurrently in two other themed areas on Day 1. In the Earth Area tent, San Carlos Apache forager Twila Cassadore hosts a hands-on session on cultivating with native plants and upcycled art, blending indigenous knowledge with sustainability. Later, local facilitator Will Burkhart presents “The Mushroom and the Toad: Our Allies for Catalyzed Psychedelic Living,” discussing mushrooms and amphibian medicines in therapeutic contexts. Over in “Our Grey Area,” a citizen science lab space, attendees dive into fungal science. Experts guide a DNA microscopy workshop where participants can peer into mushroom cells up close. Mycologist Ash Ritter shares an interactive talk titled “Gnomes, Tomes, and Genomes: Bridging Amanita muscaria Enchantment & Science,” examining the lore and laboratory science of the iconic fly agaric mushroom. Educator Emmie “Fungus Girl” presents “The Fungal Farming Frontier: Leaf Cutter Ants and Ambrosia Beetles,” revealing the symbiotic world of insects that cultivate fungus gardens.

Friday evening, all attendees reunite at the MainStage for a special panel and entertainment under the stars. A panel discussion on “Parenting and Entheogens,” moderated by local advocate Kristan Trunzo, delves into conversations about psychedelic plants and family life. As night falls, Southwest Funga Fest transforms into a music festival. Live music on the MainStage kicks off at 8 p.m. with a comedy set followed by a lineup of local and regional bands. Until around 2 a.m., attendees can expect ambient mushroom-themed soundscapes and energetic jams that carry on. Dancing under the desert sky is an integral part of the Day 1 experience, blending science with celebration.

Day 2 Highlights (Saturday, Aug. 2)

Day 2 begins with another “Morning Best Practices” wellness class such as yoga, breathwork or meditation to start Saturday on a mindful note. Uniquely, Saturday is foray day: in place of morning talks, attendees can join an ethical mushroom foray in the nearby desert mountains. Guides convene participants in the Earth Area for a safety briefing before small groups depart to hunt for wild fungi in the Sonoran Desert habitat. (Each festival ticket includes one guided foraging expedition, giving attendees a chance to apply their new skills in the field.) The foray offers a rare opportunity to learn mushroom identification alongside experts in Tucson’s high desert environment.

Educational programming resumes in the afternoon. Tyler Hacking returns to lead a MainStage workshop on “Substrate to Body: Fungal Nutrition,” demonstrating how different growing mediums affect the nutritional profile of edible mushrooms. Military veteran Tony Landry shares his personal journey in a talk titled “From Service to Ceremony: One Veteran’s Fight for Healing and Plant Medicine Access.” He discusses how cultivating mushrooms and other plant medicines aided his transition from active service to community healing. The Saturday keynote address is delivered by Andrew Classen, who highlights recent “Mushroom Discoveries in California” and explains how DNA sequencing technology is helping citizen scientists discover new species. Classen’s talk invites attendees to get involved in community science projects and contribute to fungal research.

Meanwhile, the Earth Area hosts an ethnobotany walk led by Ash Ritter, focusing on Sonoran Desert plant-fungi relationships. This outdoor session lets attendees explore how Indigenous knowledge ties into local ecology during a guided walk on the Second Sky grounds. The rest of the Earth Area schedule on Saturday afternoon is left as open space, encouraging spontaneous meet-ups, networking or ad-hoc discussions among festival-goers. In the Grey Area lab, workshops continue with a creative twist. Casiana Omick, a local artist, demonstrates dyeing with fungi, showing how mushrooms can create natural pigments for fabric and art. David Poplin hosts a lab session on extraction of medicinal compounds from fungi, teaching techniques to isolate beneficial mushroom compounds for health uses. Data scientist Kevin Kozup presents “Where Plants Speak and Data Listens: Cultivating at the Crossroads,” exploring how technology and sensors can monitor plant and fungal growth for sustainable farming. These intimate workshops give attendees practical skills in lab and field techniques.

On Saturday night, the festival once again comes together for music and community. Live performances on the MainStage begin at 8 p.m., featuring another evening of diverse acts from sound healers to high-energy bands. Under the “mushroom music meets moonlit magic” theme, attendees dance and celebrate late into the night. The camaraderie builds as participants share their experiences from the day – comparing foray finds, workshop learnings and newfound connections – all while enjoying the desert night ambiance.

Day 3 Highlights (Sunday, Aug. 3)

Sunday is the festival’s finale and a day for reflection and family fun. The morning may feature a gentle integration session, allowing attendees to process insights from the weekend in a group meditation or discussion. Rather than a full yoga class, Day 3’s “best practice” might include a guided mindfulness practice to help solidify new knowledge and friendships formed. By late morning, programming shifts to focus on the next generation of mycologists. Kristan Trunzo, who moderated Friday’s panel, leads a special MainStage talk called “Kids’ Foundations in Mycology.” This session introduces children (and curious parents) to the fundamentals of fungi in an engaging, kid-friendly way. Young attendees get to learn about mushrooms’ life cycles and ecological roles, planting seeds of curiosity for future citizen scientists.

The SPORESOURCE kids’ area truly shines on Sunday. In addition to ongoing crafts and nature activities, Day 3 features a Kids’ Talent Show on the MainStage, hosted by the festival’s kids camp crew. Youth participants showcase music, dance and art, proving that fungi can inspire creativity across all ages. “Don’t miss this!” the schedule notes, underscoring the heartwarming charm of seeing kids share what they’ve learned. It’s a family-friendly highlight that underscores Funga Fest’s commitment to all-ages education.

As the afternoon continues, the Earth Area offers one “last foray” for those eager to explore once more before the festival ends. It’s an informal opportunity to hike and hunt for mushrooms in the surrounding area, guided by volunteer experts. The remainder of the Earth Area schedule is open for community-led activities or relaxation, giving everyone a chance to soak in the final hours of the festival at their own pace. In the Grey Area lab, Sunday’s focus is on wrapping up and giving back. A Local Chef Workshop invites participants to a cooking demonstration using gourmet mushrooms, with chefs showing how to prepare fungi-focused dishes. Attendees can savor tastes of cooking with fungi and pick up recipes for using mushrooms in everyday meals. After the demo, Andrew Classen and Tyler Hacking lead an identification table walk-around, reviewing the weekend’s wild mushroom finds and answering any lingering questions in a casual show-and-tell. This helps reinforce the new identification skills attendees gained during the forays. Finally, the lab closes with a “leave no trace” clean-up session emphasizing the event’s eco-values. Participants work together to tidy the community science space and ensure everything is left as clean as they found it.

Southwest Funga Fest 2025 concludes late Sunday with a closing keynote address that ties together the weekend’s themes. Renowned therapist and fungi advocate Kate Hawke delivers the closing remarks, bringing decades of experience in trauma healing and mushroom education to the stage. Hawke – described by organizers as “a legend in the mushroom space” – has over 35 years of experience bridging therapy and psychedelic science. Her keynote likely highlights the transformative power of fungi and community, sending off attendees with inspiration to continue the work at home. By 8 p.m. Sunday, the gates close and Tucson’s first Southwest Funga Fest will pass into history as a milestone event for the regional mycology community.

Family-Friendly Activities and SPORESOURCE Kids Village

From the outset, Southwest Funga Fest has emphasized that it is family-friendly and open to all ages. A dedicated Kids Village called SPORESOURCE runs throughout the festival, ensuring young mushroom enthusiasts have plenty to do. The kids’ area offers nature walks where children can explore the desert environment with guidance, learning to observe plants, insects and fungi up close. There are also music and art activities designed for youth, allowing kids to express what they’ve learned through creativity. Interactive cooking classes for kids introduce the fun of food science with mushrooms – even picky eaters can get curious about fungi when it’s part of a hands-on cooking demo. Youth-led sessions give teens and children a platform to share their knowledge and questions, empowering the next generation of citizen scientists. Parents can feel good bringing the whole family, as the festival creates a safe, educational play space for kids while adults attend workshops nearby.

On Sunday, the SPORESOURCE village’s activities culminate with the Kids’ Talent Show on the MainStage, one of the festival’s most anticipated family moments. Throughout the weekend, kids have been learning and creating; the talent showcase lets them present their mushroom-themed songs, dances or artwork to the whole festival audience. It’s a proud and memorable moment for families and underscores the event’s inclusive atmosphere. By engaging young people, Southwest Funga Fest aims to inspire future mycologists and environmental stewards, ensuring that fungi education continues for generations to come.

Food Offerings and Camping Amenities

No Tucson festival would be complete without great food, and Southwest Funga Fest delivers with a focus on local, sustainable fare. Two of Tucson’s favorite food trucks will be on site serving lunch and dinner Friday through Sunday. The cuisine features locally sourced ingredients, showcasing regional produce and mushroom-infused recipes.

The Rainbow Kitchen sources food from farms around the Southwest bioregion, prioritizing ingredients grown as close to the festival grounds as possible. Attendees can expect nutritionally dense, hearty vegetarian and vegan options that align with the event’s earth-friendly ethos. Organizers highly encourage everyone to take advantage of the provided meal program. For those who prefer to bring their own food, small camping stoves are allowed at campsites for cooking personal meals. (Open flames and campfires are not permitted on site.)

The festival’s camping amenities are fairly simple but convenient. Attendees can set up tents on designated areas at Second Sky, creating a temporary village of myco-enthusiasts. Camping is primitive style – there are no RV hookups or showers – but the indoor restrooms and water stations are available to campers at all hours. The benefit of camping on site is full immersion in the festival. Campers can easily attend the early morning yoga classes and stay late for midnight mushroom music without leaving the grounds. As a bonus, the Second Sky property offers beautiful desert vistas and stargazing opportunities. Nightly temperatures in early August can be warm, so campers are advised to bring shade, breathable tents and plenty of water. The festival will send a checklist to all ticket holders with camping gear suggestions and necessities to pack.

Throughout the weekend, a marketplace of local vendors and artists will be open for attendees to explore. This bazaar features wildcrafted goods, mushroom growing kits, artisanal products, and fungus-themed art. It’s an ideal place to grab a souvenir like a locally made mushroom tincture or a hand-dyed fabric using fungal pigments. The marketplace adds to the festival’s food offerings as well, often including booths with mushroom jerky, foraged desert herbs, and other unique treats.

Keynote Speakers and Featured Myco-Experts

Southwest Funga Fest’s lineup includes an impressive roster of keynote speakers and mycology experts who are headlining the educational sessions. Tyler Hacking, a citizen scientist and founder of Rocky Mountain Mushrooms, is a featured speaker on multiple days. Hacking is known for his research on morel habitats and for promoting community-based mycology projects. He delivers a Day 1 keynote on morel ecology and leads a Day 2 workshop on fungal nutrition, sharing knowledge gleaned from years of fieldwork. Andrew Classen, another headliner, is a veteran mushroom hunter and educator. Classen has discovered several fungi species in North America and is passionate about DNA barcoding of mushrooms. He gives the Saturday keynote on new fungal discoveries and appears throughout the festival to guide foraging walks and lab sessions. Both Hacking and Classen have been pivotal in building regional mycology networks in the Southwest.

Kate Hawke headlines Sunday’s program as the closing keynote speaker. Hawke has over five decades of experience in the realms of psychology and fungi. As a trauma therapist and ethnomycologist, she offers unique insights into mushrooms as agents of healing and personal transformation. Festival organizers highlight her as a legendary figure bridging traditional therapy with modern psychedelic research. Her presence underscores the festival’s theme of fungi as tools for community resilience and wellness.

Other notable contributors include Ash Ritter, an ethnobotanist and herbalist leading desert foraging walks and scientific talks; Twila Cassadore, a forager and food educator sharing indigenous perspectives; Emmie “Fungus Girl,” a young educator emphasizing fungal biology and insect-fungi relationships; and Tony Landry, advocating for veterans’ access to plant medicines. With Casiana Omick teaching fungal dyes, David Poplin demonstrating lab techniques, and Kristan Trunzo focusing on youth education, the speaker list spans a wide interdisciplinary range. In total, the festival’s experts represent the world of mycology, wild mushrooms, ecology, ethnomycology, permaculture and beyond. Attendees will hear from academics, citizen scientists, traditional knowledge holders and artists, reflecting the many facets of fungi in culture.

Tickets and Additional Information

Tickets for Southwest Funga Fest 2025 are on sale now, with a cap of 500 attendees to maintain an intimate experience. Prices start at $44 for a single-day pass, with full three-day passes available on a sliding scale from about $99 to $123. Children 12 and under get free admission with a paid adult (“Spore Drive” kids ticket) to encourage family participation. All tickets include access to classes, panels, one guided foray, nightly concerts and camping. Meal plans are an optional add-on for a flat fee, but as noted, having the meal ticket greatly enhances the experience. All ticket sales are final, as the event will proceed rain or shine. Organizers advise attendees to prepare for Arizona’s range of weather – from intense sun to monsoon rains – and will issue a packing checklist to help everyone come prepared.

For more details, the community can visit the official festival website or follow Southwest Funga Fest on social media. The organizers post updates on Instagram and Facebook, sharing speaker spotlights and preparation tips. As the festival weekend approaches, excitement is building for this unique mushroom festival in Tucson – the first of its kind in Southern Arizona. Southwest Funga Fest 2025 promises a rich blend of fungi education, outdoor adventure, delicious food and musical celebration. It’s an unprecedented mycology event in the region that hopes to become an annual tradition, uniting all who are curious about the kingdom of fungi.