Midwest Morel Festival - Ottawa, IL. - May 2nd & 3rd 2015

Looks to be a morel hunt on Friday, the championship hunt on Saturday, as well as an auction of morels @ 1 p.m. on Saturday(Im heading over for the auction I think).

here are some links with all the info:

http://morelmania.com

http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/d ... ?id=430664

I will be there on Friday, looking forward to it!

and next week the annual Morel fest is in Muscoda, Wi http://www.muscoda.com/event-morels-2011.html Last year think the price was around $20/lb at the local gas station--

Hi,

Thanks for posting this. I already have a commitment for Saturday, otherwise I would be there.

When this event was at Magnolia, it was a lot of fun. When it moved to Henry, not so much. Tom and Vicki have a printing business in addition to the mushroom festival. The mushroom took on a much larger portion of their time. I'm glad it is back on track.

I'll send them a note next week once this event is over.

Regards,

Went over to Ottawa to check out the morel auction. (142) 1/2 lb. Bags of morels on the block. Cheapest bag I saw go for was $50, most expensive $65. Some expensive shrooms, some folks were buying 3-5 bags. My limit was $30, so I came away empty handed.

jimswside wrote:Went over to Ottawa to check out the morel auction. (142) 1/2 lb. Bags of morels on the block. Cheapest bag I saw go for was $50, most expensive $65. Some expensive shrooms, some folks were buying 3-5 bags. My limit was $30, so I came away empty handed.

We went yesterday for the class/hunt and heard that while week one of Morel hunting had been very fruitful, they were receiving mixed reports now. On our hunt, I only found one after two hours of beating the woods, so the pickings seem fairly slim right now.



There were close to 200 people on the hunt (for some reason, I thought it was limited to 50 or so) and we split up into groups with guides. We were in some fairly rough terrain (gullies, woods, etc) and I was really surprised at how unprepared for this some of the participants seemed to be. Lots of small children, who actually fared pretty well, but also lots of folk inappropriately dressed and otherwise ill prepared for such rigorous and physical outdoor activity. As we were in groups, this really slowed us down, but the guides did a great job of keeping an eye on everyone and trying to make sure our time was both fun and educational. Everyone's finds were put into the kitty and we each got some to take home. I'd been anticipating a much larger haul, but only went home with 10 smalls. Still, it was a great time, with the pre-hunt lecture from Tom informative and fun, and our guides highly entertaining.

I'd like to go again next year, but would probably just do the competitive hunt on day two as I've learned that en masse mushroom hunting really isn't my cup of tea. I've been Morel hunting since I was a child, which probably colors my dim view of the group hunt, but would definitely recommend the day one class/hunt for those who have never been before.

jimswside wrote:Went over to Ottawa to check out the morel auction. (142) 1/2 lb. Bags of morels on the block. Cheapest bag I saw go for was $50, most expensive $65. Some expensive shrooms, some folks were buying 3-5 bags. My limit was $30, so I came away empty handed.

Yeah them thing pricey for sure. Will have to keep my eye open for these in some near by wooded areas and local forest preserves.

Looks like this event snuck up on me.

3rd annual Midwest Morel Fest is in Ottawa, IL( about 90 minutes southwest of Chicago). this weekend May 3rd and 4th. Morel Univ., Hunt, auction, etc.

This year they have some Ottawa restaurants participating with morels on their menus

Newsaper article:

http://www.mywebtimes.com/archives/otta ... ?id=474768

A little more warning for folks this year. Looks like they have added homebrew event for the Saturday.

May 2nd and 3rd 2014

here is the link:

http://www.morelmania.com/2Championship/MorelFest.html

Bumping this, looks like the weather will be nice. -

Me and Shay might head over on Sat. for the morel hunt and/or the auction to see what up.

About a month out for this years Morel fest and hunt(s) in Ottawa, IL.. May 2nd and 3rd.

They are doing the hunts over 2 days this year, and on Saturday and Sunday - allows for folks to come out vs doing it on a Friday. they are also doing the Home Brew Tasting again.

Saturday is the guided hunt: $30/adult $15/kid

Sunday is the championship hunt - same cost - prize is $500 for the biggest morel.

Definitely going this year - might even participate in one of the hunts.

http://pickusottawail.com/wp-content/up ... letpg2.pdf

https://pickusottawail.com/event/midwest-morel-fest/

I'm going to try and go...but we've got a soccer double header first...we'll see if there's still time after the games. Last year was a really good year for morels...so far we've got wild onions and ramps...but we'll see how the morels shape up!

gonefishin wrote:I'm going to try and go...but we've got a soccer double header first...we'll see if there's still time after the games. Last year was a really good year for morels...so far we've got wild onions and ramps...but we'll see how the morels shape up!

nice,

maybe ill see you out there, also planning to fit it in between the kiddos activites on Sat.

a couple articles in the Ottawa paper re the Morel fest this weekend:

Morel Fest with schedule of events(morel auction is a t noon sat.):

http://www.mywebtimes.com/news/local/ot ... 4dc06.html

and the Homebrew Tasting(starts at 10am sat.):

http://www.mywebtimes.com/opinion/colum ... d5709.html

I attended the festivities Saturday...it was a beautiful day! I didn't get there until late afternoon. But there was still plenty of activity in the HomeBrew tent. There was also a band playing and a few vendors around. I was a little surprised that there weren't more vendors...and only one who had morel trinkets, t-shirts, canes, etc. It was still nice though...plus I picked up a new mushroom bag, since I lost mine last time I went out! We stopped by the sports bar across the street for a few beers and some homemade chips before we left.

I would be interested to hear how the hunts/auction went...if anyone participated there??? We've got a few places we go to, for morels...and I'd be interested what habits they're exhibiting. Our spots aren't too productive...kinda spotty and still only in the sporadic leaf litter (mainly greys). It's a good sign, that it's still early...but I'm worried about the weather not cooperating with this years crop.

have a great weekend!

Dan

Attended the auction. And sampled some beers. Picked up some Morels from Montgomery County. Half pound for $50. Bags were going in the $45 - $55 range. Shrooms from the Quad Cities area and Chiilicothe atea in addition to Montgomery County. Talked to a few who did the hunt and came away empty handed.

Event seems to get bigger and better every year.

a couple photos:

my share of the sack of morels I split:



never had a morel before, luckily there is a ton of info on the net and via friends who have tips. I went pretty simple. rinsed them for about an hour in some very lightly salted water(didnt want any critters or spiders). after that I soaked them in a basic egg batter(2 eggs, maybe a tbsp of cold water wisked in). I popped a little Old Bay, black pepper and garlic powder in the egg mix. When ready to cook - I lightly coated them in some ground up saltine crackers and then sauteed in melted butter. Pretty good stuff - meaty, portobello like to me -

It was a glorious day out in the area Sat. with temps pushing close to 80. Glad to have a couple LTH friends out from the city to hang out with and show around a little bit after the fest.

Infamous St. Louis Canyon - Starved Rock:



kind view and times at one of the many bars that dot the Illinois River - This view from H2o Ottawa:



H20 Bar
935 E. Main
Ottawa, IL.

Made a day of the Morel Fest and area sites and glad I did.