Volunteers Needed for MMS State Fair Display – Sign Up Today!

Whether you’re a seasoned mycophile or just starting to explore the fungal frontier, we’d love to have you join us at the State Fair! You don’t need to be a mushroom expert to volunteer, just an MMS member—you’ll be surprised how much you already know. 

What really matters is your enthusiasm and willingness to connect with others. The fair is a fantastic opportunity to share your love of mushrooms—whether that’s foraging, cultivating, photographing, cooking, or just admiring their beauty—with thousands of curious visitors. Help us inspire others and represent MMS in a big, bold, and fungi-filled way!

📅 Volunteer Opportunities – State Fair 2025

Our display shifts filled up quickly this year, but we still need help setting up, tearing down, and transporting items to and from our storage unit. Here’s how you can help:

📦 Pre-Fair Transport & Setup

Secure Transport Needed

• A volunteer with a covered, secure truck or trailer to pick up items from our storage unit on the evening of Tuesday, August 19, or the morning of Wednesday, August 20, and deliver them to the fairgrounds by 10:00 AM on Wednesday, August 20.

Loading Help

• 1 more volunteer is needed to assist with loading the truck on Tuesday evening, August 19, or Wednesday morning, August 20.

Setup Crew

• 2 more volunteers to help set up the display at the Horticulture Building on Wednesday, August 20, from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM. Lunch will be provided.

🎪 Last Day Tear Down

• Friday, August 22 (2 tear-down shifts available, from 9-10 PM)

🚚 Post-Fair Transport & Unloading

Return Transport Needed

• A volunteer with a truck to return items to the storage unit on Saturday morning, August 23.

Unloading Help

• One to two more volunteers are needed to help unload at the storage unit on Saturday morning, August 23.

🚗 Important Travel Info

Allow plenty of travel time when heading to the fairgrounds, as entrance lines can be long. Also note: the southbound Como Avenue exit is closed. If you’re coming from the north, you’ll need to continue past it and backtrack to the northbound exit.

✅ Sign Up Now!

Volunteer opportunities for the State Fair 2025 are now open!

👉 Click here to sign up
Or copy and paste this link into your browser: volunteersignup.org/KJKAP

It only takes a few seconds to sign up—follow the instructions on the page.

🍄 Mushroom Foraging

To ensure a beautiful and educational display, we need fresh specimens!

• Volunteers are needed to forage for mushrooms independently on Monday, August 18, and Tuesday, August 19.
• Randy Strobel and Joanie Furlong are leading an informal Foray at Battle Creek Park on Tuesday, August 19th, to collect mushrooms for display. To join them and help make this year’s display the best yet, sign up here!

Thank you for helping make this year’s display innovative, interactive, and memorable! Warm regards,
Heather Erickson
📧 heatherericksonauthor@gmail.com
📱 612-850-0599 (Text and talk)
Minnesota Mycological Society