Celebrating Fungi

We love putting on the Radical Mycology Convergence. By providing space for the inspiring arts and sciences of mycology to intersect with a range of cultural and environmental topics, each RMC brings new layers to modern mycoculture and Radical Mycology movement.

Founded in 2011, the RMC began as a reflection of the booklet (zine) entitled Radical Mycology, which had been written by RMC Founder Peter McCoy two years prior. Blending cultural, political, and philosophical topics with mycology, the small text presented the idea that fungi were not only interesting but vitally important for all life. The first RMC was initially intended to be small, but quickly grew into a gathering of 300 people from around the world! Over the following six years, four more Convergences were held in Washington, Illinois, New York, and Oregon, with each incarnation bringing a new suite of teachers, attendees, and insights.

Though touring the event around the country helped build a strong community of Radical Mycologists, the logistical needs required proved to take energy away from manifesting the best event possible. So, this year, for the sixth Radical Mycology Convergence, we are excited to be holding the gathering in the same location for a second time, so that the RMC becomes more rooted to the land that hosts its growing community.

The 2022 RMC is already looking to be our most engaging to date, with many new events set to take place, as well as an increased capacity to host over 500 mycofolk throughout the weekend. Over the five days of the RMC, fungi-lovers, artists, activists, and permaculturalists of all stripes come together to take part in mushroom hunts, art shows, outdoor fungal installations, and workshops on topics ranging from fungal ecology and mushroom cultivation, to medicine making and mitigating pollution via mycoremediation – all while meeting hundreds of like-minded people from around around the world!

The RMC is the first event of its kind and unlike any other gathering!

Building a Mycoculture

Ideas, people, and fungi found on the fringe will always be seen as outsiders, radicals, or avant garde by some. While we embrace the uniqueness of the RMC and our approach to discussing and working with fungi, we do so primarily to uplift this so-often overlooked branch on the Tree of Life and to show just how multi-faceted and inspiring these species are.

Underlying our approach is an emphasis on enhancing quality of life for all of the world's inhabitants, just as the fungi do so well. Likewise, our ethos is largely influenced by ideas found in deep ecology, in which all beings are seen as having an inherent value and interdependence.

We value the fungi not just for what humans can take from them, but for what we can learn from them.

At the heart of the RMC there has always been an intention to build a mycelial network of like-minded fungi advocates through the sharing of the event’s rarely-encountered topics. As such, our approach is founded in a design process that is DIY-inspired and an intent that is grassroots-promoting. The RMC's site is rural and workshops take place outdoors (weather permitting), or in a variety of barn-type spaces – a rustic and real setting that emphasizes the natural beauty that fungi offer.

Likewise, the unifying and far-reaching topics covered at the RMC draws together people of all backgrounds, political stances, and lifestyles. We encourage all participants to come to the RMC with an open mind and an excitement to learn from this variety of perspectives and to discover new ways of working with and appreciating fungi. Though not a traditional event in some senses, we strive to make the entire RMC a safe, comfortable, and inspiring space for learning new information, having new experiences, and making new friends.

Much of the RMC emphasizes community building, sustainable lifestyle practices, and personal empowerment via the unique practices of mycology.

This is a distinct shift from the traditional approach of working with macro fungi – which often emphasizes identification, toxicology, and consumption – toward an emphasis on applying mycology to improve the health of all.

We see all of this as a natural evolution from the foundations laid by the mycologists of the last two centuries: a step from theory into practice and from domination toward allyship with the Fungal Queendom. We warmly invite anyone interested in participating in the Radical Mycology Convergence to come, learn, help out, or teach for we are the extreme, or radical, or leading edge of the rapidly expanding mycoculture of history, which is now myceliating the world!

We are excited and honored to return to Brown Bottle Farm (BBF) for the 2022 RMC. The same site as the 2018 RMC, this location proved to be the most ideal location of any RMC to date thanks to its wonderful caretakers, semi-forested setting, diverse workshop spaces, and all-around awesome vibe. For the first time, we are returning to a prior RMC site to help strengthen our relationship with the land, its fungi, and the community that has come to know its many offerings.

BBF is located in the small farming community of Mulino, Oregon, approximately 25 miles south of Portland. A diversified and certified naturally grown vegetable and mushroom farm, BBF is entering its sixth season to provide non-GMO, open pollinated, and heirloom produce, mushrooms, and herbs to farmer’s markets and restaurants in the surrounding area. Farm owners Anna and Ryan have over 10 years of experience in herbalism, farming, and mycology and are the primary stewards of the land’s 40 acres (also, they are great, and you should really get to know them!).

The site has some areas that are wheelchair accessible, but the grounds are mostly unpaved and gently sloping. Some workshop spaces are outdoors and spaced several hundred yards apart, though most are close together and either indoors or shaded. As early October tends to be right at the start of the rainy season in Oregon, we suggest all attendees prepare for autumn weather (e.g. cool and moist) as you make your way to the RMC.

* Please note that Brown Bottle Farm requests that no outside pets come on site with RMC attendees. If you have a registered service animal that you must bring with you to the RMC, please contact us prior to registering to discuss your needs. Thank you for your understanding.