Thousands of locals and visitors braved the heat to enjoy the food, crafts, live music, games and merchandise at the 37th annual Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras Saturday, May 28.
Simren Toor and her three daughters, Morgan Hill residents for about nine years, were making their way through the vendor booths in the parking lot of the Community and Cultural Center early in the afternoon. They have attended the Mushroom Mardi Gras “every year” since they moved to Morgan Hill.
“We enjoy all the local food. The kids like the games and meeting their friends,” Toor said of her daughters, Jasreen, 10, Hareen, 6, and Isha, 6 (the latter two are twins).
“I like the music, and playing on the rides,” said Isha Toor. The three sisters attend Nordstrom Elementary School.
The Mushroom Mardi Gras takes place in downtown Morgan Hill, centered around the grounds of the CCC, located at 17000 Monterey Road. The food, wine and art festival features dozens of vendor and food booths, offering a variety of cuisine—including the event’s namesake fungus prepared a variety of ways. Beer, wine and cold beverages are sold throughout the festival grounds.
Vendors, live entertainment stages, and the children’s area can be found along Depot Street, including in the CalTrain parking lots. Vendors can also be found indoors at the CCC where, for the first time this year, a cooking demonstration stage hosted by a full lineup of local and celebrity chefs entertains and educates the crowds.
Saturday afternoon, the chef duo Sakabozzo, stars of the Sakabozzo cooking show produced by GavTV and Charter Cable, elicited continuous laughs from the audience while offering instructions on how to prepare one of their gourmet creations.
The main entertainment stage is located at the Downtown Amphitheater at the CCC. At 1:30 p.m. May 29 on the amphitheater stage, Mushroom Mardi Gras producers will present local high school students with thousands of dollars worth of college scholarships, the primary purpose of the nonprofit fundraising festival.
The Mushroom Mardi Gras is always a big draw for out-of-town visitors. Vince and Laurie Hoke took a motorcycle ride from Fresno to Morgan Hill to enjoy the Mardi Gras. It was their first time attending the festival.
“We’re here with a bunch of friends,” Vince Hoke said.
Mike Bachman and Suzanne Wilson took the short drive from their home in San Jose to attend the Mardi Gras May 28. Bachman has attended the festival many times in the past, and Bachman has family in Morgan Hill.
“We’ve just been walking around and enjoying the fun,” Bachman said.
Over the last three decades, the Mushroom Mardi Gras has issued more than $860,000 in scholarships, $29,500 in mini-grants and $420,000 to participating school groups.
The Mushroom Mardi Gras continues until 7 p.m. May 28. The event resumes Sunday, May 29, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event is free, and parking is available at a number of lots surrounding downtown Morgan Hill, including the VTA lot and South County Courthouse on Butterfield Boulevard.
For more information, visit mhmmg.org.
