Attendees at Denver Shroom Fest will see artwork like this from Spectra Art Space. Photo by Julianna Photography The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. For locals, by locals. Sign up today! Colorado has become the epicenter of a burgeoning psychedelic movement. In 2019, Denver became the first city in the United States to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms. Three years later, the entire state followed suit when voters passed Proposition 122 , which decriminalized various naturally occurring psychedelics—including magic mushrooms—while also establishing a legal pathway for psychedelic-assisted therapy. Then in June 2023, Denver hosted Psychedelic Science , the largest global psychedelics conference in history.
But despite Colorado’s increasingly progressive reputation, some psychedelic industry leaders believe there’s been something missing so far: fun.
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“Especially after Proposition 122 happened, people are now just growing their own mushrooms,” says Eric Burden, who runs a mushroom supply business called Denver Spore Company . “And while I love the therapeutic aspects of Proposition 122, nobody’s taking the chance to have some fun yet and do something that’s more for the consumers and people that actually live in this culture.”
Jonathan Cherkoss, who organized last November’s Psychedelic Cup competition for mushroom growers, says he’s noticed the same thing. Although there have been plenty of serious presentations about psychedelic-assisted therapy and expensive conferences such as Psychedelic Science (which cost between $750 to $1,700 per ticket) where scientists and venture capitalists exchanged business cards, few organizers seemed to create space to highlight the more whimsical aspects of psychedelic culture. Where was the art and music and creativity and weirdness that’s long been associated with psychedelic use?
That’s why the two friends decided to organize Denver Shroom Fest , a one-day festival whose inaugural kickoff takes place at ReelWorks on June 9 (noon to 10 p.m., tickets $65).
“We thought, Let’s take it away from the convention-style thing and have something more fun-focused and party-focused ,” Burden says. “And things just kind of snowballed from there.”
Here are just some of the eccentric offerings […]
5 Trippy Reasons to Attend the First-Ever Denver Shroom Fest
