Community celebrates 40th annual Kennett Square Mushroom Festival

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (WPVI) -- Thousands of visitors flocked to Kennett Square this weekend for the 40th annual Mushroom Festival, celebrating the borough's title as the "mushroom capital of the world" with food, family activities and a spirit of giving back to the community.

"I love mushrooms so much! It tastes so good," said Vincent of West Chester.

What better place to indulge in mushrooms than the Kennett Square Mushroom Festival?

The borough is better known as the mushroom capital of the world!

"We have 53 family-owned and operated mushroom farms that grow about 64% of the mushrooms in the entire country," said Gale Ferranto.

Ferranto is a third-generation mushroom farmer and coordinator of the festival. In fact, her mother, RoRo, is a co-founder.

"They thought, let's have a festival and teach people about mushrooms, how to use them, how to cook them, the nutrition value, and then businesses started to contribute also," said Ferranto.

Forty years later, the festival continues to flourish with activities for all ages.

"We have the Lego masters this year, which is really fun," said Ferranto. "We have a mushroom build. We've got a puppet show for kids. We have rides. We have a culinary tent."

In this tent, visitors learned how mushrooms grow.

"I think it's terrific, especially for the youth, so they can get involved in agriculture," said Vincent Perez of West Chester.

"A lot of people who come through don't realize how much goes into it," said Vince Basciani, who is a fourth-generation mushroom farmer with MD Basciani & Sons. "I think it gives them more of an appreciation for the process and the people who do the work."

From farm to table - there are a variety of mushrooms to devour: breaded, sautéed, and even ice cream.

"The spice on them is perfection, and they're plump and very juicy," said Pat Cassar of Mayfair.

"Excellent. Very good," complimented Tony Cantando of West Grove. "Every year it gets bigger and bigger. We've been coming for like 20 years."

It's not all about mushrooms. Organizers also give back to the community.

Since its inception, the mushroom festival has awarded more than $1.4 million in grants to organizations.

This year, $200,000 will be donated to 43 local non-profits.

One of them is Family Promise of Southern Chester County.

"Family Promise has been the beneficiary of the mushroom festival's generosity in terms of tangible things for our families, beds, sofas, couches, mattresses," said Carol Lowe, the non-profit's executive director. "It feels amazing."

"It is the heart and soul of this community. At the end of the day, people come together, they volunteer," said Ferranto. "I don't know how else to feel but so heartfelt about that."