Kennett Mushroom Festival celebrates 40th anniversary

The Mushroom Festival celebrated its fortieth anniversary on September 6 and 7 along State Street in Kennett Square. Despite intermittent rain, nearly 230 vendors filled up the main street and surrounding areas with food, games, and entertainment. Visitors from across Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and beyond came to the event, which drew almost 100,000 attendees. Throughout the weekend, visitors played games such as Connect 4 and Twister, won prizes, shopped at pop-up booths, posed for pictures with the Philly Phanatic, and celebrated in the town's long-standing mushroom-growing tradition.

The Mushroom Festival is rooted in Kennett Square’s mushroom industry. Known as the “Mushroom Capital of the World,” Kennett Square produces over 500 million pounds of mushrooms per year – nearly half of the entire U.S. crop. The town’s history of mushroom cultivation, which began in the early twentieth century, inspired the creation of the Mushroom Festival in 1985.

A variety of food was offered from dozens of vendors. The renowned mushroom soup made its annual appearance, with many chefs presenting their own take on the dish, giving festivalgoers many different interpretations of the soup. Alongside mushroom soup, visitors could sample funnel cake, cotton candy, and pure honey. “The honey was so good; it was my favorite part,” said Marin Statuto, a junior at the high school.

Nothing Bundt Cakes was one of the 220 vendors that stood out with its red velvet, lemon, and carrot cakes. Having participated in the year prior, the company noted the event drew in many visitors from outside the area. “[The Mushroom Festival was] organized well and [was] a great chance to interact with the community,” said one vendor. “I even got a chance to interact and buy things from other vendors as well!”

Some vendors have more history with the festival. Guatemalan Goodies has been a part of the Mushroom Festival for 25 years. The head vendor reflected on the festival’s growth and shared a memory about how her son used to participate in a chicken dance event, expressing hopes that it would make a return. Other notable vendors included Sweetman Designs, Smoke Signals BBQ & Catering, and Longwood Rotary Club.