Community, Culture, Food: Matsutake Mushrooms! (松茸/マツタケ) Takes the Stage October 16th
Presentation by Amy Peterson, a third-generation Japanese American matsutake forager.

Sense of Place is excited to kick off its 15th anniversary season with Community, Culture, Food: Matsutake Mushrooms! The event will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, at the Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River, Oregon. Doors open at 6:00 p.m., and the show begins at 7:00 p.m. The presentation will also be livestreamed for virtual attendees.

Miki-Yasui-with-matsutake-Yasui Family Collection photo

The evening will feature Amy Peterson, a longtime mushroom forager and educator. Amy is a third-generation (Sansei) Japanese American whose family has foraged matsutake mushrooms for nearly a century. She will share the deep cultural and natural history of the matsutake mushroom, a species that thrives in symbiosis with the pine trees of the Gorge. Matsutake mushrooms are highly sought after for their flavor, distinct aroma, and rich cultural legacy.

The event will also include a short film featuring Hood River native Homer Yasui on his final matsutake hunt, offering a rare glimpse into this cherished tradition. A Q&A session with Amy Peterson will follow the presentation.

“We are thrilled to open our 15th season with Amy, whose story beautifully intertwines the ecological and cultural history of the matsutake mushroom with the Japanese American community in the Gorge,” said Sarah Fox, host of Sense of Place.

Event Details:
Community, Culture, Food: Matsutake Mushrooms! (松茸/マツタケ)
When: Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. Doors at 6:00 p.m., show from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. PDT.
(If the event is sold out, unclaimed seats will be released to the waitlist at 6:45 p.m.)
Where: Columbia Center for the Arts, 215 Cascade Ave., Hood River, OR 97031
A livestream option is also available.
Tickets: Available online at https://givebutter.com/matsutake. Advanced purchase is encouraged.

About the Speaker:
Amy Peterson is a third-generation (Sansei 三世) Japanese American. She began foraging for matsutake mushrooms as a child with her family. Amy later trained with master matsutake forager Leke Nakashimada and now hunts for the fungi from mid-summer through early winter. She regularly leads foraging hunts with the Japanese American Museum of Oregon. Amy estimates that matsutake hunting has been a family tradition for nearly a century.

About Sense of Place:

Sense of Place is a program of Mt. Adams Institute, a Gorge-based nonprofit that strengthens the connection between people and the natural world through education, service, career development, and research. For more information on the series and Season 15, visit senseofplacegorge.org or follow us on Instagram @senseofplacegorge. Subscribe to the Sense of Place Newsletter for event updates and behind-the-scenes stories.