Fungal attack!

AN experience to fill all the senses has taken over Euroa and the Strathbogie Shire this week after the 2025 Festival of Fungi emerged on Saturday night. The festival launched with the ‘Puff Ball’ at Strathbogie which drew about 120 people all dressed in possibly the most difficult theme imagined: fungi. A sea of mushroom hats, a token morel, and the odd label indicating a certain guy was ‘fun’ filled the town's Memorial Hall along with the brass finesse of Melbourne band Hoodo Mayhem. The festival has been well-prepared with all of Euroa’s kindergartens and primary schools contributing to an art display of mushrooms at Shiela gallery, and across Binney Rd the ARTBOX has an exhibition of its own – Local Fungi – which showcases the work of nine talented local artists until Monday and has been curated by artist Ann Cremean in collaboration with Strathbogie Ranges Conservation. The exhibition brings to life the beauty, mystery, and ecological importance of fungi in our local environment and features a vibrant range of works, inviting audiences to see nature through a new lens. On Friday night the walls of the North Eastern Hotel will once more be coloured with a bioluminescence light projection that will take locals and visitors further into the world of the Kingdom Fungi. Artistic fungal interpretations will be projected on both the hotel and surrounding structures, and the display will take the audience into the amazing subterranean lives of fungi and their symbiotic relationships with forest dwellers. The installation is produced by the Little Projector Company with artistic input from many local primary and secondary students. Fungal expert Alison Pouliot will round off the weekend by hosting a luncheon at the Northern Republic Restaurant after launching her latest book Funga Obscura. Dr Pouliot is an ecologist and environmental photographer and fungi expert. She is recognised as an Australian and international fungal conservationist and has written in both academic and popular literature. The festival is in its tenth year and is organised by Strathbogie Ranges Conservation and funded by a Victorian Landcare Grant. Spectators to Friday's light projection are encouraged to walk to the site at 2 De Boos St from Euroa town centre via the railway underpass. The family-friendly and all-ages event is free and will have food vans on site. Bookings can be made at: www.eventbrite.com.au/e/festival-of-fungi-bioluminescence-projection-light-display-tickets-601873398537

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