About a dozen local restaurant chefs will prepare mushroom-based delectables and compete for bragging rights and your attention and patronage. How much will it cost you to sample this orgy of fungal sensuality?  Five bucks. Five bucks!  Good luck scoring a mushroom high for less, even by the gram!  That's smart shopping.

There will also be a full "Kidz Zone" for spelling-challenged children, including pirates, piñatas, balloon animals, Ronald McDonald, a Tumble Bus, and (in my perverse imagination, at least) Dr. Timothy Leary.  Grown-ups can enjoy live music (Acoustic Union, the Bobbers, Off Boulevard) and cooking demonstrations from such culinary artists as Hungarian chef Kristi Dohring - gombapörkölt for everyone!  It's cheap, it's delicious, and you won't do a hard five for Class C felony possession of a controlled substance. Read the full story here.

Pacific Northwest Mushroom Festival

Saturday, July 24 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday, July 25 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
two-day $5 admission mushroom buttons
Thurston County Regional Athletic Complex, 8341 Steilacoom Road SE, Lacey
MushroomFest.org