A micro-celebration of all things fungi along Karangahape Road.
This August 2026 mini-programme is just the start and offers mushroom dishes at some of our favourite eateries, public art, interactive pop-ups, talks, free activities for the whole whānau, a subterranean costume parade plus the inaugural Giant Puff Ball!
These are the first spores for the Auckland Mushroom Festival, the humble sprouts for an evolving mycelial network.
Eat and imagine, dance and discover, fossick and fizz.
Brought to you by the Mushroom Appreciation Committee of Tāmaki Makaurau and with support from Auckland Council Events.
Thanks for being part of Auckland Mushroom Festival 2026 – the first one ever!
We really want to do this again, and we need your help…
Please complete this short survey on your experience – it only takes a few minutes and will help us improve the festival and secure support to make it happen again next year. Leave your name at the bottom of the survey and you’ll be in to win a $200 voucher to spend at one of our participating restaurants!
Nourish : Fungi Flavours
A mushroom is not a plant. It’s much closer to an animal, genetically speaking. But it’s not one of those either. Mushrooms come from kingdom Fungi. And fungi offer flavours that drive some people a bit mad – furtive truffle hunters, midnight porcini pickers and so on. Full of the same amino acids that give meat its savoury depth, fungi are umami powerhouses. And these restaurants are serving up Fungi Flavours you won’t want to miss. With support from Meadow Mushrooms.
Expand:
Spore Speakers
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Expand: Spore Speakers 〰️
You are surrounded by fungi at this very moment. They are floating by on the breeze, breaking down your lunch, moving nutrients through the soil beneath your feet.
Without them we wouldn’t have bread, beer or antibiotics. Come learn more about this fascinating kingdom from our Spore Speakers in conversation with Fungi of Aotearoa author, Liv Sisson.
Tickets are $10 and on sale now, space is limited so don’t wait!
All talks hosted at Abstract Hotel
8 Upper Queen Street
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Liv Sisson
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Raquel Minh
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Sam Lasham
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Jay Lichter
THE MAGIC OF MUSHROOMS WITH RAQUEL MINH
Thursday 13th August, 6:00pm @ Abstract Hotel - $10+bf
Mushrooms come in every colour of the rainbow. Some are helpful, some are harmful, others are healing. Curious about their wellbeing potential? Wondering why they’re getting more air time recently? Or just really love them? Raquel Minh is a trauma-informed plant medicine guide and educator. In this session, she'll explore the magic of mushrooms, from cultural, indigenous and scientific perspectives all while asking – how can we honour them?
SOLD OUT
FUNKY FUNGI (ON THE BIG SCREEN) WITH JAY LICHTER
Saturday 15th August, 3:00pm @ Abstract Hotel - $10+bf
With an estimated 20,000 fungi species here, it’s impossible to catch them all. But Jay Lichter has caught more than most – with his macro camera setup. Jay shares spectacular photos of our funky fungi with a global audience of over 70,000, and has just released a new book, The Secret Lives of Fungi. In this session, he’ll bring some of the weirdest and wackiest species straight to you. From pixie parasols, to hot lips puffballs, jelly babies, devil fingers and more. These species, projected up on screen, and Jay’s knowledge of them, will transport you to another world.
SOLD O UT
MUSHROOMS & MENTAL HEALTH WITH SAM LASHAM
Saturday 15th August, 1:30pm @ Abstract Hotel - $10+bf
Psychedelics are being used to treat a range of mental health issues. From depression, to meth addiction, eating disorders and more. But what’s happening here in Aotearoa with all that? And how does it work anyways? PhD candidate, Sam Lasham studies magic mushroom use here and is exploring how users can maximise benefits and minimise harm. He’ll dig into these questions, share about his work and what’s been learned along the way.
SOLD OUT
Delight:
Fungi Fun
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Delight: Fungi Fun 〰️
THE GIANT PUFF BALL
Saturday 15th August, 5pm to 10:30pm
Whakamana Cannabis Museum, Hopetoun Alpha
19 Beresford Square
(R16 with a grown-up)
Limited presale RSVP tickets BOOK HERE
or Koha at the door
All good things must come to an end, and the Auckland Mushroom Festival 2026 is going out with a full-blown burst. The inaugural Giant Puff Ball is the festival's official closing party, a one of a kind fungi function where the mushroom-mad, the curious, and the beautifully strange gather under one dome to celebrate everything the festival has grown.
Your host for the evening is the one and only Johanna Cosgrove, guiding you through a night bursting with talent. Live music and DJ sets from Carnivorous Plant Society, Hun Lynch, Fergus Waveforms, HALFQUEEN, Ryan Berkley, and Foxglove and ECB Firmware, all wrapped in immersive floor-to-ceiling visual projections from pareidoliavisuals and unclegrayvisuals, that will have you convinced you've wandered into the undergrowth.
The night begins at 5pm with a special welcome mihi and karakia from Te Rōpu Māori Auckland Pride. From there it unfurls with party games, mischief, and a spicy punch bar by Karmaceuticals to keep the spirits dancing. BYO cup if you can. Proper fairies don't do single use, and neither should you.
COSTUMES, DARLING. COSTUMES.
This is a ball, and you are the fungi. Red hats, spotted caps, towering toadstools, glowing ghost fungi, velvet moss, whatever the rain brought up. Get crafty, get weird, and dress like you grew from the forest floor. Spot prizes for the best dressed fungi throughout the night, so spore no effort.
SHOES OFF, SOCKS ON
In the spirit of fairies, who famously don't wear shoes, this is a barefoot ball. We're stoking the furnace and rolling out the rugs for warmth and toe-wiggling comfort, so pack your cosiest socks for slouchy sliding across the ballroom floor. Coat check will mind your shoes, so don't fret. They'll be waiting at the end of the night. (Dealbreaker? Soft-soled shoes are ok to keep on. Just no hard heels please, there are fairy toes down there and they'd like to keep dancing.)
THE PRACTICAL BITS
The Giant Puff Ball is R16 (with accompanying grown-up) and alcohol free inside. If you fancy a tipple, pop next door to No.7 for a cheeky drink between dances. Lollo's Pizza Rave will be out front serving authentic Roman-style slices to fuel your frolicking.
Hosted at and in collaboration with Whakamana: the Cannabis Museum of Aotearoa, inside the gorgeous Hopetoun Alpha.
Dress fungal, dance feral. Let this night mushroom.
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Johanna Cosgrove
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Hun Lynch
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Carnivorous Plant Society
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Half Queen
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Fergus Waveforms
COCO’S SHROOM COLLAGE NIGHT
Wednesday 12th August, from 4pm, prizes at 7:30pm
Free entry with RSVP ticket
Coco’s collage night is back with a special SHROOM edition. All you need to bring is yourself. Craft supplies will be provided plus prizes and a special pasta – sautéed swiss browns, lemon mascarpone, house made porcini tagliatelle, parsley oil.
LEARN MORE
SOUP & SOUNDS @ COCO’S
Saturday 15th August, from 2pm @ Coco’s Cantina
Coco's Cantina will also be popping off on the Saturday of the mushroom festival. Head there FROM 2pm for free soup and awesome DJs plus streetside, woodfired mushroom pizzas ($17).
It's gonna be a vibe.
SHROOM MODE :
CACAO & RESTORE
Wednesday 12th August, 6pm - 7pm
The School of Modern Meditation (SOMM)
1 Howe St | $35
Join Raquel Minh, a trauma-informed plant medicine guide and yoga teacher, for a cup of cacao & adaptogenic mushrooms before going on a journey of somatic resourcing and deep rest. You'll explore your own mycelial network - the fascia system, while going on a guided mushroom meditation.
Kick off the Auckland Mushroom Festival with School of Modern Meditation.
FUNGI STORIES
Friday 14th August, 6:00pm
OpenLate
553 Karangahape Rd
Free
Inspired by The Moth, an open mic experiment – come share short, personal stories celebrating people's connections with fungi, from gardening and foraging to healing, grief and unexpected encounters. Special mushroom espresso martinis available
FUNGI COSTUME PARADE
SUBTERRANEAN EDITION
Saturday 15th August, 3:00pm, Free
Karanga-a-Hape Station (CRL), Mercury Lane Entrance
An all ages whimsical community parade marks our very first magical journey through the brand new CRL station together. Led by comedian Johanna Cosgrove.
Dress as your favourite fungi with red caps, spotted caps, tiny mushrooms, towering toadstools, or all the creative frou-frou you can muster.
We're heading underground for a tour of the brand new CRL network section. You'll be among the first to explore the station before it officially opens. We'll make our way up Aotearoa's longest escalator and ascend together to Beresford Square.
All while the CRL Open Day is in full swing with free entertainment both above and below ground. Costumes are mandatory, so get crafty and turn it up for the parade. This is one event that's really going to mushroom.
Participants need to book for the 3pm session of the CRL First Look Open Day at iTICKET. Limited on the day bookings may be available, but pre-booking will assure your spot — BOOK HERE
SMALL RAVE PRESENTS: MUSHROOM EXTRAVAGANZA!
Saturday 15th August, 10:30am - 2:30PM
FAM Market day, Pitt St Methodist Church - Free to drop in any time
SMALL RAVE Kids Corner. Transform into a magical mushroom. A workshop to create your own fungi-inspired costume using our treasure trove of craft materials. Make a puffball hat, toadstool mask, truffle cape, or dream up your own fantastical mushroom creation. Crafting is perfect for tamariki and rangatahi of all ages.
NEED MORE FUNGI FUN?
Follow @aklmushroomfestival, sign up below or check back here for more updates and drops.
Delight:
Art Fungi
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Delight: Art Fungi 〰️
MUSHROOM ROOMS
BY HANNA SHIM
Large scale textile fungi installations.
Abstract Hotel Winter Garden
8 Upper Queen Street &
Crushes (shop window)
235 Karangahape Rd
MYCELIAL RESONANCE
BY VIRGINIA FRANKOVICH & THOMAS PRESS
A participatory sound installation.
208 Karangahape Rd
Micro Mushroom Market
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Micro Mushroom Market 〰️
SATURDAY 15 AUGUST
2:30 - 6pm
19 Baresford Square
Next to Hopetoun Alpha
MUSHROOM MATE
Mushroom Mate is a small Kiwi family business born from a school project growing oyster mushrooms in recycled materials. We craft grow-your-own mushroom kits for families and schools, plus artisan Mushroom XO Spread and Forager's Mushroom Salts, made with freeze-dried mushrooms, for real flavour at home.
ORA’S FARM MUSHROOMS
Ora's Farm, run by Ora and Itay from their Mangawhai property, is New Zealand's largest Oyster Mushroom supplier, growing six exotic, nutrient-dense varieties 100% naturally. Inspired by European mushroom farms, they're on a mission to bring more exotic mushrooms into Kiwi kitchens. NZ Artisan Awards finalist, 2019.
FAE MOSS CREATIONS
Fae Moss Creations is an independent Aotearoa jewelry brand run by a queer, neurodivergent creator, crafting whimsical, gothic and fantasy-inspired polymer clay earrings and trinkets for the fae, gay and goth community. Regularly popping up at Auckland's alternative and fandom night markets.
CHECKS DOWNTOWN
Checks Downtown is a New Zealand clothing label blending street fashion, luxurious fabrics and tailored design with a playful, eclectic attitude. From its Auckland flagship on Osborne Street, Checks is redefining Kiwi design for the world, and will be selling exclusive Aotearoa Fungi tees at the festival.
GINGER’S PANTRY
Ginger's Pantry is run by former chef Hyon Ju Yun, who traded tough kitchen hours for handcrafted Korean fermented foods. Using wild fermentation and mostly local NZ ingredients, Ginger makes seasonal kimchi and sauerkraut drawing on family tradition, her mum being a kimchi expert back in Korea.
Revive: Mush-Room Stays
Abstract Hotel has created a specially curated Mushroom Festival package just for you.
Your room features unique mushroom-inspired details, and the restaurant serves chef-crafted mushroom dishes that celebrate the season's best. Every detail is designed to showcase the flavors, aromas, and creativity of the festival.
Perfect for food lovers and anyone seeking a unique escape. Book your room and let your festival experience really mushroom.
Use promo code MUSHROOMS when you book and get a special rate and mushroom perks.
(Subject to availability and blackout periods. T&Cs apply)