Pre-Conference Events
10th Annual Mycelium Mysteries
Women's Mushroom Conference
Dodgeville, WI
Pre-Conference Immersions & Workshops are deep-dive learning experiences with a more intimate group. Add one or more pre-conference events on to your Mycelium Mysteries weekend experience OR just join us for a pre-conference workshop or foray (you don't have to register for the Mycelium Mysteries weekend Conference to attend a Pre-Conference activity). View all pre-conference events below, then sign up on the main registration page.
THURSDAY | All Day Workshops
Certified Wisconsin Mushroom Identifier Class with Melissa Klotka
Thursday, September 17
The Wisconsin Mycological Society has put together a fabulous class for beginning or intermediate mushroom lovers. Learn about all of the most popular edible species in Wisconsin and their look-alikes. Discover key identifying characteristics, and if you feel extra adventurous, test your knowledge at the end! If you receive a passing score on the test, you will become a Certified Wisconsin Mushroom Identifier, and you will be able to legally sell mushrooms to restaurants and grocery stores in the state of Wisconsin.
The class covers:
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PDF study guide, sent to you by email - you maintain access to this study guide for ongoing reference
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Key identification practices for approved species for sale to grocery stores and restaurants in Wisconsin
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Correct handling and storage of wild harvested fungi for sale
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Use of "Wisconsin Statement of Sale for Wild Mushrooms" forms to document your transactions
Adding the test includes:
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Administered test on the curriculum in-person, that same day
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Grading of your test and communication of your results within 14 days of testing
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If passing, 3 year certification in the state of Wisconsin to sell approved wild foraged fungi to grocery stores and restaurants
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If passing PDF copy of a certification card you may choose to print or use digitally on a website, social media
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Card includes a QR code that leads to a webpage maintained by WMS affirming your certification and displaying the contact details for you or your business which you choose to have visible
Pricing:
$95 - Class ($80 for the WMS Class + $15 MWH processing fee)
$140 - Class with Test ($125 for the WMS Class with the test + $15 MWH processing fee)
*Note: An additonal WMS form will be required for registration. This form will be emailed to you after registering*
Energetics for Magick in Everyday Life with Ruth Barrett & Falcon River
Thursday, September 17
Through interactive and participatory exercises, participants will learn hands-on, tangible energetic skills for surviving and thriving in patriarchy, providing and receiving energetic support, the art of centering, and much more. Our intention is to provide women with tools to access their bodily memories of drawing power from the elemental powers that surround us, and for becoming more receptive to the multi-sensory world of Nature.
Sweetgrass & Pine Needle Basketry with Linda Conroy
Thursday, September 17
Learn to make a coiled basket using pine needles and sweetgrass. Spend a fun day exploring the creative possibilities of this traditional skill as you design and complete your basket. Herbalist Linda Conroy will guide and instruct you on how to coil and stitch a simple basket as well as integrate other materials into your basket, ie black walnut hull, pine cone, beads, and more.
This class is a great opportunity for both beginners and intermediate weavers to begin or expand on their skills.
Bring a small pair of scissors, a thimble, and reading glasses if needed. All other supplies provided.
Tending Our Dead with Liz Franklin, Threshold Care Circle
Thursday, September 17
Until the latter part of the 19th century, most people were born and died in their own homes. When they were born, their family cared for them; when they died, their family cared for them. Dying, like birthing, was integrated into living. Threshold Care Circle was created to help families rediscover this tradition of home vigil and family-directed funeral.
This pre confernece immersion is focused on at-home and community death care. Participants will gain the information and hands-on practice needed to care for loved ones after death.
Topics include:
• Advance planning: Utilizing My Final Wishes, WI Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will & Ethical Will
• Meeting legal requirements and acquiring the necessary paperwork
• Care of the Body
• Creating Sacred Space, and Home Vigils
• Family Direct Cremation & Green Burial options
THURSDAY | 3-Hour Workshops
Other Ways of Knowing The Fungi
with Sue Van Hook
Thursday, September 17 | 6:30pm-9:30pm
Journey With Mushrooms!
Come listen to what fungi have to teach us. Sue will share her many encounters of working with fungal spirits over the last 50 years and invites you to meet the fungal species who align with your purpose through a shamanic drum journey. During this time together, we will also journey for the highest good for the collective as fungi lead the way forward.
In this pre conference workshop you will:
• Learn the basics of shamanic journeying to access other ways of knowing
• Connect with fungal beings to gain insights and wisdom
• Receive guidance for your life's path
• Discover how we women can weave ourselves into mycelial communities above and below ground
Please bring a mat or towel so you are comfortable laying down for a period of time and a blanket or shawl to be warm. Bring a journal or notebook and pen for recording your experience.
FRIDAY | 3-Hour Workshops
Bringing Mushroom Terminology Down to Earth with Anna DeMers
Friday, September 18 | 9am-12pm
Are you stuck foraging and working with the mushrooms that you know, while many of the others remain hard for you to identify? During this workshop you will learn different features of mushrooms and their terminology related to the gills, caps and stipes (stems), so that you can better utilize your books and resources. Throughout the learning, we will practice noticing features and using terminology to describe a variety of wild mushrooms that the instructor brings to the class and ones that we gather together in the woods during a short foray.
Participants will:
• Learn the terminology that help you recognize patterns in mushroom families.
• Gain confidence in using macroscopic (visible to the eye) mushroom features to better distinguish and identify mushrooms to family and sometimes species on your own in the field.
Crafting and Magical Use of A Willow Wand with Falcon River
Friday, September 19 | 8:30am-12:30pm
In goddess and female-centered Dianic Witchcraft, the wand is a tool of the Air element as trees create the very air we breathe. In this experiential workshop, participants will be guided through the transformational process of crafting a wand from a willow tree branch, consecrating it as a tool of magic, and will begin to learn the energetic skills needed to effectively wield it in accordance with will. All materials will be provided. Participants are asked to bring a sharp pocketknife.
Introduction to Mushroom Cultivation with Ingrid Daudert
Friday, September 18 | 9am-12pm
Grow your own mushrooms! Join us to increase your mushroom cultivation knowledge. Learn a variety of ways to grow your own bounty of edible and medicinal fungi. Mushroom farmer Ingrid Daudert will teach about and demonstrate a variety of growing techniques:
• Shiitake log inoculation
• Totem technique, as well as low-tech pasteurizing of straw as substrates for growing mushrooms.
• Many of the techniques can be used interchangeably with various mushroom species.
Mushrooms in the Kitchen and Apothecary with Linda Conroy
Friday, September 18 | 9am-12pm
Join herbalist and mushroom enthusiast Linda Conroy for this fun, hands-on workshop. In this session, we will learn how to prepare mushrooms for optimal health and medicinal use. From culinary delights and infused vinegars to beverages and extracts, everyone will go home with remedies and preparations we make in class, along with instructions on how to incorporate them into everyday life.