Fungi Fest returns to Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory: Visitors learn about, check out many mushroom varieties

(Update: Adding video, comments from Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory)

SUNRIVER, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Dozens of people turned out early Saturday morning to Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory for the eighth annual Sunriver Fungi Fest and Mushroom Show.

The event was put on by the Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory and Central Oregon Mushroom Club. Many showed up to take in and inspect hundreds of different species, like chanterelle and maitake mushrooms. 

"It's a really fun event," Conservation Manager Kelli Neumann said Saturday. "It just brings a lot of really fun people together who are interested in mushrooms. It's an incredibly unique niche in our forest. A lot of people don't think about Central Oregon as being a mushroom hotspot, but it really is."

"There's a lot you can find out here, so this is a good resource for folks who are interested in the mushrooms that are growing out there in the forest," she said,

Visitors were able to purchase hundreds of items from the 15 vendors on hand, like: mushroom portraits, jewelry, and mushroom figurines.