Panhellenic Mushroom Festival 2025

Μετάφραση

Panhellenic Mushroom Festival 2025

The county of Grevena has a long tradition in wild mushrooms picking. Cooking recipes, conservation techniques, folk names and beliefs about mushrooms are part of local history and culture. The tradition of mushroom picking on the slopes of Valia Kalda has been passed down from generation to generation thanks to the many varieties growing here. Wild mushrooms are an important source of income for the area, with many locals involved in trading. In Greece, you can find more than 2,500 species of mushrooms, but only 150 are edible. In recent years, Grevena has been considered in the consciousness of the Greeks as synonymous with mushrooms and it is recognized as the undisputed mushroom capital of the Balkans. The Panhellenic Mushroom Festival in Grevena is one of the best gastronomy festivals in Greece, and worth a visit if you find yourselves in Western Macedonia in August.

In September 2003, the 1st Panhellenic Mushroom Festival took place on the banks of the Venetikos river. The festival continues to this day, and attracts thousands of visitors from Greece and abroad. It is organized by a Mushroom Society of Western Macedonia with the Municipality of Grevena in the Park of Mushrooms every August, and includes educational seminars, mushroom cooking classes, themed exhibitions, wood carving, children's workshop, outdoor activities and music concerts, all related to mushrooms. During this unique food festival, you can try favorites such as savory mushroom pies and mushroom stews alongside new innovative recipes such as mushroom delicacies, liqueurs, cakes, and even mushroom spoon sweets. You can also visit the exhibition area or buy mushroom-related products as well as various other local products from the small shop located on the festival’s grounds.

Photo: Lucie Hošová on Unsplash