37th edition of the Vigan Mycological Conference

October 16-17, 2021

Edibility and toxicity of mushrooms … a game of chance?

Did you know that the largest mushroom ever found had an area of 37 hectares and a weight of 400 tons? Enough to make a beautiful omelette, you might say!

However, a fungus is not only that strange little thing that arises from the ground, but also and above all a filamentous life form that lives under our feet, a complex and underground network that has nothing to envy the Internet.

We invite you to come and discover these mysterious beings, which are neither plants nor animals, of which the Cévennes are one of the emblematic territories of France.

How many collectors have traveled our hills in search of mycological gold?
How many baskets have endured these long walks through the forest?
How many faces have smiled at the table in front of gourmet dishes?
And how many shoes have they worn to get back there?

Surely as many as mushroom species! But watch out… there are the good guys and the bad guys!

But if the taste qualities of mushrooms are recognized today, what about their biology? Join us on the occasion of the 37th edition of the Vigan Mycological Conference on October 16 and 17, 2021 . Around gourmet picks, tantalizing recipes, and exciting lectures, mycologists will come and share their knowledge of the secrets of the mushroom! Come and learn more with scientific researchers and experts in the field, and for the first time Fernando Martínez Peña, director of the European Institute of Mycology.

Fair, giant mushroom contest, tastings and other workshops will grow in our streets like every year every fall!

Our mushrooms cannot have 37 hectares and 400 tons … But we have the pleasure and desire to share them with you! A moment of sharing for everyone, whether you have small feet … or large baskets!

The annual event for 40 years!

Wednesday 13 Oct 2021. Salle Lucie Aubrac (streamed live online)

20: 30h.

Advance

  • Without the bees we would have no more pollination, but without the fungi we would have nothing to pollinate.
    MYCO-DIALOGUES, TO MAKE SALIVAS …
    Conference Can you eat it? What’s new in mushroom edibility?
    by Jean-Michel Bellanguer from the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology of Montpellier

Thursday 14 Oct 2021. Salle Lucie Aubrac (streamed live online)

20: 30h.

Conference
  • “From past uses to current practices, a brief history of mycophagia in Montpellier and its surroundings” by Franck richard from the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology of Montpellier
Friday 15 Oct 2021. Salle Lucie Aubrac (streamed live online)

20: 30h.

Round table

  • “Return to the future? Visit of mycological territories in Spain ” with Fernando Martinez Peña Director of the European Mycological Institute

Saturday 16 Oct 2021

9:00 a.m.-10:30 p.m.

Different activities

  • At the market in the morning: Free tasting of mushroom soup .

  • In the city: Giant mushroom contest held by schools in Pays Viganais.
  • In the Rooms ( from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ): Sample of more than 200 species of mushrooms (bring your specimens!)
    Exhibition, fair, round tables …

  • Harvest in the mountains: Go out with the Pleine Nature Club to learn how to determine fungi together and check our findings with mycologists.
    Departure at 2:00 p.m. from Les Halles, estimated return at 6:00 p.m.

  • Screening of the film “A fond sur le champignon”: Film on mushroom harvesting and marketing, followed by a debate “A fond sur le champignon” , a movie of Julie Darde and Arthur Bouvart , a Première Lines production with the participation of France Télévisions / 52 minutes, 2017.
    From 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. , Cinema Le Palace (Ticket price: 5 euros )

Sunday 10-17-2021

9:00 a.m.-10:30 p.m.

Different activities
  • Harvest in the mountains: Walk with a mycologist.
     Departure at 9:00 a.m. from Les Halles, esteemed return to the 1:00 p.m.
  • In the Rooms ( from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ): Sample of more than 200 species of mushrooms (bring your specimens!)
    Result of the giant mushroom contest.

  • Harvest in the mountains: Go out with the Pleine Nature Club to learn how to determine fungi together and check our findings with mycologists.
    Departure at 2:00 p.m. from Les Halles, return estimated at 6:00 p.m.

  • At 3:00 p.m. Tales and legends about mushrooms. Narrator at 16: 00h.

Jean Michel Bellanger
from the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology of Montpellier

Frank Richard
 from the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology of Montpellier

Fernando Martinez Peña
 Director of the European Mycological Institute.

Occitanie