9th Mushroom Festival in Sinies

The Sinies Educational and Cultural Society, together with the Corfu Mushroom Lovers’ Association and the Hellenic Mushroom Lovers’ Association, are co-organising the 9th annual Mushroom Festival on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November in Sinies (Agia Varvara – Porta Sinion).

The festival will include mushroom-gathering and identification excursions, truffle hunting with specially trained dogs, a talk and information session about mushrooms, and an exhibition of paintings and handicrafts on the themes of mushrooms and nature, created by pupils from primary schools and kindergartens in the surrounding area.

This year’s event will welcome delegations of mushroom enthusiasts from abroad, including Serbia, Croatia and Cyprus, as well as various mushroom lovers’ associations from elsewhere in Greece.

The programme will include:

Friday 6 November (exclusively for primary schools)

• 9:30–11:00 am: Talk and presentation, followed by an excursion to identify mushrooms with younger pupils, entitled “Getting to Know Mushrooms”, at Agia Varvara, Porta Sinion.

• 11:15 am–12:30 pm: Mushroom-themed creative activities and a children’s workshop.

Saturday 7 November

- 10:00 am: The Kassios Dias group will organise a parallel activity: a walk through the village of Palies Sinies. The meeting point is the Church of Agia Varvara at Porta Sinion. Participants should bring suitable equipment for a walk of approximately 8 km. Refreshments will be provided afterwards by members of the Nissaki Cultural Society.

- 12:00 noon: Meet at Agia Varvara, Porta Sinion (in the church courtyard) for an excursion into the Sinies area to find mushrooms, accompanied by experienced guides. Participants should bring a basket and a knife.

- 3:30 pm: Demonstration of truffle hunting using specially trained dogs.

- On returning from the excursion, members of the Corfu Mushroom Lovers’ Association will offer mushroom soup.

- 4:30 pm: Start of the information session, “Getting to Know the Mushrooms of Greece”, led by researcher and mushroom expert George Konstantinidis, President of the Hellenic Mushroom Lovers’ Association.

- 5:30 pm: A tasting session with the team from the Corfu Chefs Club, featuring specialities prepared by Corfu chefs, including mushroom youvetsi, grilled mushrooms and other delicious mushroom dishes. This will be followed by a festival with food and live music performed by the band “Ta Paidia tou Berdé”, providing entertainment for everyone.

- An exhibition of paintings and handicrafts on the themes of mushrooms and nature, created by pupils from kindergartens and primary schools in the surrounding area, will also be held at the venue.

The events are supported by the Municipality of North Corfu, the Sinies Local Council, the Sinies Social Cooperative Enterprise, the Hellenic Mushroom Lovers’ Association, the Kassios Dias Association, the Nissaki Cultural Society and local accommodation providers, who will host the mushroom enthusiasts travelling from abroad and elsewhere in Greece.

Everyone is welcome to come and discover the secrets of mushrooms and experience the natural beauty of Sinies first-hand.

ELENI KORONAKI