Bay Area LIFE: Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras is fun for whole family!

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- It's mushroom time! The Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras festival is fun for the whole family!

The two-day festival of family fun includes live entertainment on two stages, arts and crafts with a special "Artists Section" for fine arts & quality craft, gourmet offerings, a mushroom educational exhibit, cooking demonstrations, strolling musicians, street performers and several city blocks of booths with finds that include everything from carved wooden mushrooms to news that you can use.

Munchkin Land is on track to captivate kids with rides, games and continuous entertainment.

New this year is a Premium Wine Tasting Event. The Premium Wine Tasting Event is a ticketed event for $25 which includes 12 tastings of award winning, premium wines and a souvenir wine glass with a private, elegant setting in the Rose Garden at the Morgan Hill Community & Cultural Center.

The festival star - The Mushroom - can be tasted in soup, stuffed, sandwiched, deep-fried, marinated, over rice and much more.

Local mushroom growers are hosting educational exhibits on how mushrooms grow and the latest nutrition research. There will also be plenty of just-picked, locally-grown portabella, crimini and white mushrooms - the ultimate, take-home souvenir.

California ranks second in the nation in mushroom production and more than 60% of those mushrooms are grown in Santa Clara and Monterey counties. Morgan Hill is the Mushroom Capital of the Western United States.

Scholarships are awarded to graduating seniors living within the geographical boundaries of the Morgan Hill Unified School District. This district has the largest loading area in the state of California. The boundaries go from Gilroy, including San Martin, to South San Jose and Almaden Valley. The scholarships are available to public and private school students.

- In 2014, over 200 applications were submitted for scholarships

- In 2014, $50,000 in scholarship funds were dispersed

- Over $900,000 has been awarded since 1980

- 40 students per year are awarded the scholarships.

Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras is Memorial Day Weekend: May 28-29, 2016. It will held in downtown Morgan Hill and the Outdoor Community Center Amphitheater and surrounding areas. Admission is free and there is also free parking.