September was a very busy month! We Spread our spores far and wide! Multiple events at the farm brought in guests, and multiple venues and organizations fed people with our beautiful mushrooms! We got into the forest for the beginning of “circle-every-oak” season and found a variety of fresh fungi: Hedgehogs, Coralloides, Boletes, Chanterelles, Chicken, Black Trumpets, Hens and Slippery Jacks were a few of the mushrooms we brought back to consume and share!
With the school season starting back up we welcomed interns! Suri returned from Emma Willard and Erik joined us from RPI.
Our September Dinner on the Farm curated by Chef Dave Chaiken was a delicious success.
Nighthawk’s of Troy, Subculture, and the Eldorado Bar all benefited from Chicken Season and served up their own versions of the delicious fried cutlet sandwiches using wild foraged Chicken of the woods Mushrooms (Laetiporus Sulphureus).
We turned our production bay into a dance party with DJ Positive Energy Corporation and grooved through the night!
We ran a table at the Waterford Tugboat Roundup this year and got to enjoy seeing all the amazing boats while talking mushrooms for an entire weekend!
At the September NYPAC Meeting we hosted activist Sutton King who spoke about her work advocating with the Urban Indigenous Collective. Assemblymember staff continue to attend and there was an active discussion about the bills that will be presented next year surrounding Psilocybin access. NYPAC will have a weeklong lobbying opportunity in March to illustrate the importance of Psilocybin as medicine! Join us at one of our monthly meetings to see how you can get involved! (Follow nypsilocybinactioncommittee on instagram to stay tuned in)
We finished up Paul Stamets’ book Mycelium Running in our book club and will be starting The Mushroom Hunters: on the Trail of an Underground America by Langdon Cook. (Our Next Meeting is in November (11/10) email Avery @ Collarcitymushrooms@gmail.com if you are interested in joining.)
Being in the mountains on a Lake provides the perfect opportunity to grab some fresh wild mushrooms and get them on our plates!
The Mushwagen has been seen all over Troy and beyond carrying fresh mushrooms direct to the doors of our customers!
Nancy joined our team as a weekend myceliator! She has been hosting the second Sunday poetry open mic and that just wasn’t enough time in the farm for her!
Collar City Mushrooms Music and Creativity Celebration for September showcased artist Lindsay Kirk and featured the bands Stoker and Century Plants, Tarot reader Amy, with food made in house and provided by DiFamiglia.
Artists Allie E.S. Wist and Lisa Schonberg created a short film about mushrooms and their environments using some footage shot in our grow rooms!
Check it out here:
The Brooklyn Psychedelic Society invited our team down to give a workshop on mushroom cultivation. Avery and Etienne went down with a car full of supplies and came back nearly empty handed! So many folks are interested in growing their own food and medicine!
Avery Started teaching a 4 session course on mushrooms through the continuing education program at the Hudson Valley Community College.
Rensselaer County Tourism and the People’s Pub gave us shout outs during the month!
The Wild Honey Pie and Meadowlark Catering put on a Dinner and music event at the Takk House featuring our mushrooms in the main course.
http://www.takkhouse.com/ (Venue)
https://www.meadowlarkcatering.com/ (vegan Catering Company)
Avery and Corinne participated in a talk on Psilocybin with the Psychedelic Sisterhood.
Watch a brief clip here (Full discussion coming soon): https://youtu.be/HJx31foXxUk
We participated in a street health and wellness fair put together by the Joy of Troy Church in Lansingburgh.
The fungi are fully fruiting in our part of the world! Stop in and see what’s going on!
Upcoming:
Oct 2: Capital Region Veg Fest
Oct 4, 7pm – 8pm: Meditation Amongst the Mushrooms Drop in
Oct 9: CLOSED but Second Sunday Poetry at 2pm is still on! Come bring a poem or two or a short story or piece of non fiction to share.
Oct 11, 7:30 – 9pm: NYPAC meeting (we are back to the farm this month, so come on down and see what’s changing with the Psilocybin situation in New York and beyond. Join our meeting in person or through zoom:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82660181000?pwd=TVYvbllSQncwRzhOU3d1VlBML2grZz09
Oct 13, 6:30 – 9:30pm: WOOP LIfe Presents: A night of Sober Silent Disco and Connection
Buy tickets through Eventbrite, or avoid the fees and purchase directly from our farm store!
Oct 14, OFFSITE EVENING EVENT for the Science Teachers Association of New York State @ Schenectady County Community College. No impact on Farm Store open hours (11am – 3pm)
Oct 15, 11 – 2pm: Popup at Primo Botanica (200 Broadway, Troy, NY 12180) for the launch of our new Mushroom-Chocolate Beverage. https://www.primobotanicachocolate.com/ (No impact on Farm Store open Hours (10am – 3pm)
Oct 18, 7pm – 8pm: Meditation Amongst the Mushrooms Drop in
Oct 27,7pm – 9pm: Sculpt and Sip at the Helderberg Meadworks
We will be providing materials for guests to construct their own mushroom sculpture art centerpieces while the meadwork’s staff serves up beverages! 1 Beverage included with each ticket!
Buy tickets through Eventbrite, or avoid the fees and purchase directly from our farm store!
Oct 29, Mycelium Open Disc Golf Tournament : fundraiser for NYPAC.
Register for the tournament here:
https://www.discgolfscene.com/tournaments/Mycelium_Open_2022
Oct 29, 5:30pm – 8:30pm: Dinner on the Farm with Chef Matt Olley (Vegan)
4 course mushroom forward meal including a mushroom hot beverage (or two). $60 a seat! Menu coming soon.
You can get tickets through the Event brite link, or avoid the fees and buy them directly from our farm store!
Nov 1, 7pm – 8pm: Meditation Amongst the Mushrooms Drop in
Nov 3, 6pm – 8pm: Inspiring Wellness Enriching your Body with Healthy and Healing Mushrooms https://www.inspiring-wellness.org/
Nov 5, 5pm – 8pm: Music and Creativity Celebration featuring Jade Warrick and DJ Mercy!!!
DJ Mercy!!! Is a Latin-American musician, record producer, and bandleader. On stage he can be heard behind the congas in a funk band, on kit in a jazz band, or spinning deep cut disco in your favorite club. Behind the scenes he’s known for producing hiphop records and engineering for jam bands. Come hear what DJ Mercy!!! Is up to now!
Nov 19, 5:30pm – 8:30pm: Dinner on the Farm Featuring Chef Kate Ray (Vegan)
Tentative menu:
Cremini, black-eyed pea, & black olive pastelitos with tangy herb dipping sauce
Salad with king oyster bacon, carrots, sunflower seeds, furikake croutons and a savory porcini-shiitake mustard dressing
Pozole rojo with mixed mushrooms, chickpeas, and hominy, served with huitlacoche crema and crispy paprika-lime chickpeas
Truffled Trifle — Chocolate chaga buckwheat cake, coconut truffle whipped cream, mushroom caramel, black sesame-oreo crumble
Check out Kate’s Blog “Soft Leaves” for some of what she’s been working on! Her current project is to get people to “Shroomify” their meals by replacing the main protein with mushrooms!
Collar City Mushrooms 