Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras Festival

On Sunday, May 30, 2010, I drove down to Morgan Hill, a town of sunny plains bracketed by rolling hills, for its Mushroom Mardi Gras festival. The town is well past San Jose, a small town in otherwise fairly rural countryside.

The festival felt like main street U.S.A., a more typical street fair than I see in the bay area. That is, it felt more like it could be a street festival anywhere in America than one of the many bay area festivals I've attended. Also, I wonder if this is related, but I noticed more overweight and obese people than I usually see in the bay area itself.

It was a big festival. It had two stages, including one in an outside amphitheater. The festival booths had everything, even two shops selling totem poles. Even the kids play area was larger than usual. Indeed, this area was more like a carnival merged with a street festival than a typical street festival play-and-ride area.

I explored part of the festival, ate, explored more, ate, took a break, and explored more. For my break, I managed to find a shaded spot--this wasn't easy--and sat and read. It was actually rather pleasant once out of the sun (though hot when in it). A testimony to the power of the sun and a perfectly clear sky: I returned with a sunburn despite only being there for three hours and change, some of which was in the shade.

I took some pictures at the festival. As you can see, I stuck with the theme, seeking out dishes with mushrooms rather than the typical festival fare (which was certainly present). This served me well.

Incidentally, I felt funny driving to the festival: although the festival was next to a Caltrain station, I couldn't take the Caltrain because it doesn't travel this far south on the weekends.