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Community
Community
CRYSTAL FALLS — The 30th annual Humongous Fungus Festival, which like many prominent events went on hiatus last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, is slated for July 30 through Aug. 1. The weekend-long event will feature a parade, live music, a vendor fair, sidewalk chalk and more.
This year’s theme, “What a long strange trip it’s been,” a reference to the Grateful Dead album, also gives a nod to the trying year many have had -- enduring lockdowns, shutdowns and limited social interaction.
While this year’s festivities will be pared down compared to years past, the Crystal Falls Business Associate and Iron County Economic Chamber Alliance, who are cosponsoring the event, still hope to pack the weekend with fungus-related fun for residents and visitors alike.
The event is based around the iconic subterranean Crystal Falls fungus. Discovered in 1992 and at one time considered the largest living organism in the world, it spans 187 acres, is estimated to weigh 882,000 pounds and be 2,500 years old.
The weekend will feature rummage sales in Crystal Falls on Friday and Saturday. Local businesses will also participate in sidewalk chalk art throughout the weekend. Harbour House will host their Strawberry Social, offering free strawberry shortcake, on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Crystal Falls Library will host a book sale and concert on Friday from 4-7 p.m. Marquette folk musicians Troy Graham and Colton Ort will perform live at the sale, which will be held in front of the library building.
The Forest Park Academic Booster Club will distribute orders from its pasty sale on Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the United Lutheran Church. Pre-orders will be taken until Thursday, July 30 and can be made by calling 906-214-4695 (ext. 216).
The parade will start at 6 p.m. on Friday, July 30, with registration starting at 5 p.m. and lineup at the Forest Park bus garage. Spectators can line up to watch the parade on Superior Avenue.
Following the parade, Not Quite Canada will perform from 7-10 p.m. in the lot behind the Crystal Theatre. Hailing from Marquette, the group describes itself as a “5-piece funk jam.”
Friday will also feature the women’s and men’s softball games at Runkle Lake, with the women’s game starting at 6:45 p.m. and the men’s at 8 p.m.
On Saturday, July 31, the lot behind the Crystal Theatre will be transformed into the festival’s “Vendor Village” from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring roughly 20 vendors selling wares including jewelry, jams and jellies, glassware and pottery products. Businesses interested in a booth at Vendor Village can pick up a flyer with more information from the ICECA office in Iron River.
The Christ United Methodist Church in Crystal Falls will hold a pie social the same day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A buckboard (cornhole) tournament will be held at Runkle Lake on Saturday, with registration at 5 p.m. and the tournament following direction after.
There will be multiple screenings throughout the weekend of the documentary “A Humongous Fungus Among Us.” The documentary is the brainchild of Crystal Falls-native Tim Warmanen, who worked on the project with videographer Logan Hall of Los Angeles and producer Laurie Adrianopoli of Chicago, as well as mycologists Dr. Johann Bruhn (who originally discovered the fungus), Jim Anderson and Myron Smith.
“Over time, I’ve realized that (the fungus is) so captivating because it’s this hidden organism that’s not like humans at all,” Warmanen told the Reporter in a 2020 interview about the film. “It’s been around for thousands of years, grown truly massive, all while quietly playing its important role in nature. Our world is full of wonder, even if you can’t see it.”
The film will be screened at the Crystal Theatre on Saturday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., then again on Sunday at 1 p.m. Warmanen will also participate in a Q&A session at the Crystal Falls Library on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., during which he will discuss his film’s creation.
A couple staples of previous Fungus Fests will be missing this year: The baking of a 100-square-foot mushroom pizza as well as mushroom foraging tours have been eliminated from this year’s festivities but may reappear in future years. Both were canceled due to logistical issues.
“A majority, if not all, food establishments around Crystal Falls will be serving some type of menu item related to Fungus Fest (mushrooms), from pizza to burgers to other dishes,” Zach Hautala, chamber director for the ICECA, said.
An event like Fungus Fest hinges on community participation, particularly from local businesses. Considering the lack of certainty over what to expect going into the summer season, and with many small businesses still recovering from the pandemic fallout, Fungus Fest organizers felt it best to ease the event back into the public space.
“This year was a different dynamic,” Hautala explained. “...When you’re a business owner -- especially in places like the U.P., small towns, Iron River, Crystal Falls -- a lot of these business owners are mom-and-pops. So, they’re working a lot of hours, even when they’re not on the clock at their businesses … So, the participation has been better in some years, but everyone is still willing to contribute whichever way they can.”
Hautala said the event’s goal, beyond bringing the community together to celebrate its quirky fungi lore, is to give back to those businesses.
“For the Fungus Fest, we’re excited to … put it on again, after a year of the pandemic,” Hautala said. “Our target is to draw people to this community … to celebrate and have a good time … We want people to come into the community, eat at the local establishments, local shopping … but also we want the locals to get back into the community and participate as well.”