Funghi Fest in Castelbuono

Funghi Fest is Castelbuono’s autumn festival of mushrooms and Madonie produce. The 2026 edition, the twentieth, runs from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October: stalls along Via Sant’Anna, tastings of mushroom dishes in Piazza Castello, music in the evening, street performers and an art market at the castle viewpoint. Walking around the stalls is free.

When is Funghi Fest 2026?

The dates come from the official website, which publishes the programme and warns that it may still change. Here are the fixed appointments, day by day.

Day	Time	What and where
Friday 23 October	5:30 pm	Stalls open in the old town
	6:30 pm	Opening ceremony in Via Sant’Anna
	10:30 pm	Music in Piazza Castello
Saturday 24 October	10 am	Stalls open
	noon and 6 pm	Mushroom dish tastings in Piazza Castello
	9:30 pm	Premio Internazionale della Cultura e del Gusto award, Piazza Castello
	11:30 pm	Music show, Piazza Castello
Sunday 25 October	9 am-6 pm	“Artisti a Corte” art market, Viale Castello viewpoint
	10:30 am	Folk group parade through the old town
	noon and 6 pm	Tastings in Piazza Castello
	4:30-5:30 pm	Sud Street Band, circus and street art in Piazza Castello and Piazza Margherita

On Saturday and Sunday the Museo Civico in the Castello dei Ventimiglia is open from 10 am to 7 pm, last entry fifteen minutes before closing.

How did it start and how many editions has it had?

Funghi Fest is organised by the Associazione Culturale Promomadonie and PromoCastelbuono, with support from the town council and the Sicilian Region. In 2018 it reached its twelfth edition and, according to press reports shared on the official website, brought around 10,000 visitors to town in one weekend.

It has been held every year since: seventeenth edition in 2023, eighteenth in 2024, nineteenth in 2025 (Madonie Press) and twentieth in 2026 (Il Cefalino).

What happens during the festival

The format has stayed the same for a few years. On Friday afternoon the stalls open and local officials inaugurate the festival in Via Sant’Anna. In the evening everything moves to Piazza Castello, where the stage is.

Saturday is the day for monuments and nature walks in the woods around town, plus the two tastings in the square. The evening ends with a guest or a concert: in 2025 it was the band Il Giardino dei Semplici and comedian Sasà Salvaggio.

Sunday is the busiest day. At the castle viewpoint there’s “Artisti a Corte”, the art market run by the Associazione Pittamu (fifth edition in 2026); folk groups and street bands parade through the centre, and street performers take over in the afternoon.

What to eat and what to see

The heart of Funghi Fest is the tastings in Piazza Castello: Madonie dishes made with mushrooms, cooked by chefs and served at lunch and dinner time. Through the old town, local producers’ stalls offer food products and crafts, alongside street food and craft beer.

Between bites, step into the Castello dei Ventimiglia, home to the Museo Civico. If you’re curious about local produce, read our story on Castelbuono manna and the guide to Madonie food. Everything else worth seeing in town is on the Castelbuono page.

Getting there and where to stay

Castelbuono sits at 423 metres on the northern side of the Parco delle Madonie (Madonie Park). The festival website suggests these routes:

• by car from Palermo (about 90 km): A19 to Buonfornello, then the A20 towards Messina to the Castelbuono-Pollina exit and 14 km on the SS286;
• from Messina (about 170 km) and from Catania (about 180 km): same A20 exit, then the SS286;
• by train: Cefalù station, then bus or car. On Sundays, again according to the official website, there are no buses from Palermo or Cefalù.

The old town is best explored on foot, and it gets crowded during the festival, especially on Sunday. The website does not list dedicated car parks: arrive early and leave the car outside the centre.

For the night, you’ll find hotels, B&Bs and farm stays on the where to stay in Castelbuono page, and local restaurants under where to eat in Castelbuono. Evenings are cool in late October: check the Castelbuono weather forecast before you set off.

Other events on the same days

On the same weekend, 23 to 25 October 2026, Petralia Sottana hosts the Festa dei Sapori Madoniti d’Autunno. Other local events are listed under events in Castelbuono, and other food festivals in the Madonie food festival calendar. To add a walk in the woods, read where to see the beech woods in autumn.

Past editions

Dates of recent editions, from the sources listed at the bottom of the page.

Year	Edition	Dates
2026	20th	23-25 October
2025	19th	24-26 October
2024	18th	25-27 October
2023	17th	14-15 and 20-22 October (first weekend with mushroom dishes in restaurants, second with the stalls)