FW: July 27 WVMC Foray Schedule

[Rebecca Rader]

Here is all the information you all need about the July 27th foray of the WV Mushroom Club.  I am going to register and drive up really late on Friday night after work so if some others of you are interested in going, it would benefit you to carpool so you can go early and not miss the Friday evening social.  You can always hit "reply all" to discuss this.

Information to come very soon about OUR big foray September 6th-8th at Mountain Lake, VA.  We are doing this in conjunction with the Mycological Association of Washington.  All kinds of help requested!  Contact me about what you can do to help pull this event off!

Becky Rader

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To: geez...@aol.com
Subject: July 27 WVMC Foray Schedule
From: geez...@aol.com
Date: Sun, 12 May 2013 07:26:59 -0400

GUESS WHAT?  WE NOW HAVE A FACEBOOK PAGE:  https://www.facebook.com/WestVirginiaMushroomClub

When you visit our page, please sign up for our foray under Events and, whether or not you can attend our foray, please LIKE us.  (Do we sound like Sally Fields at the Oscars?).  Of course, we still have our web page http://wvmushroomclub.org/ and we're working on getting the web page JOIN link to work, so you can download foray and membership applications.  Meanwhile, we're attaching foray applications in 3 different formats to this email and hoping that one of them will print for you.

 

EARLY REGISTRATION: Saturday, July 27th 2013 is right around the corner.  Please print and send in your foray application so you can take advantage of the $10 discount for early registration.  The foray is $35 at the door and $25 if we receive your registration form and check before June 30th 2013.

 

FRIDAY NIGHT EARLY REGISTRATION AND SOCIAL:To get the ball rolling and unwind from your commute, we're going to meet at the Assembly of God fellowship hall (not the church) in the town of Dry Fork, which is just a few miles south of Canaan Valley State Park, for a PIZZA SOCIAL Friday the 26th, from 4pm till about 9pm.  This will be your chance to avoid waiting in line to register Saturday morning, meet (and hopefully join) the West Virginia Mushroom Club foray staff and volunteers, and get first crack at the fabulous mushroom and other nature lover's items for sale.  If you think you can join us Friday evening, please email in advance, so we know how many pizza's to order.  The pizzas will hand made at Sirianni's Cafe - a local, family owned Italian restaurant and pizzeria that has been a Tucker county favorite for decades.

 

SATURDAY MORNING SCHEDULE: At 9am Saturday morning, Gary Lincoff is going to give us the basic info we need to begin collecting wild mushrooms.  We'll then break up into groups and car pool to different areas for guided walks to collect mushrooms. 

 

ANOTHER BENEFIT OF EARLY REGISTRATION: The first 10 paid early registrants will have the option of going on a foray walk with one of our identifiers.  The walk will be limited to 10 people.

 

AND YET ANOTHER BENEFIT OF EARLY REGISTRATION: We're having a combination MUSHROOM BIRDER foray walk this year!  The first 10 paid early registrants have the option of joining this walk, which will also be limited to 10 people.  Look up, look down, look all around.   There is always something to see on the trees or the ground.

 

AFTER OUR FORAY WALKS: We'll return to the fellowship hall and place the mushrooms and fungi we collect on the display tables.  From there, WVMC guardian angel Donna Mitchell will sort and label them.  Meanwhile, mushroom expert and author Bill Roody will identify them for us,  noting, when indicated, which species are edible and which are poisonous.  While they're busy doing that, we'll enjoy lunch on our own.  If you don't have time to pack a lunch for yourself, or just want to enjoy local color, there are several nearby restaurants and microbreweries to explore.

 

AN AFTERNOON OF LEARNING ABOUT WILD MUSHROOMS: 

 

Around the world with Gary Lincoff:  After lunch, Gary will offer us some interesting comparisons on mushrooms and other fungi of the world.   Whether  you've never seen a wild mushroom before or you do fungal DNA sequencing for a living, this is a program you won't want to miss.

 

Around Appalachia with Walt Sturgeon:  We'll take a little break to stretch and then mushroom expert, author and photographer Walt Sturgeon will introduce us to some of the wild boletes we can expect to encounter in the Appalachian region - many of which are edible and delicious.

 

Around the kitchen with Shelly Conrad: By the end of the afternoon, when our brains are full and our stomachs are starting to feel empty, Shelly Conrad will do a hands-on tutorial on mushroom field cleaning, home preparation and cooking.  Roll up your sleeves and join the fun.  After cleaning and cooking the mushrooms, there will be a tasting for everybody to enjoy.  The last 10 people to register for the foray will be assigned to the cooking demo clean-up crew (just kidding).

 

Around the display tables for Show and Tell: Later that afternoon, we'll take a walk around the display tables and learn some interesting facts, history, anecdotes and expert tips that will help us to identify the fungi we find.

 

One for the Road: Even at forays that take place during a drought, there will still be a whole lot of fungi found.  The best way to learn your mushrooms is to select a couple from each foray and focus on them. Ask our identifiers the easiest way to recognize them and the best way to distinguish between them and their look alikes.  Take a few minutes to look them up in your mushroom field guide and make some notes about how they look, feel and smell.  If possible, look at them under a hand magnifying lens.  Photograph them with their ID label in clear focus for later reference.  Take them home to make spore prints and then observe how they change as they age or decay.  At the end of the foray, mushrooms will be placed in bags to be composted or returned to the forest. If you find any specimens that you want to take home to study (which we highly recommend), please write "save for John Smith" on the display plate. Unless, of course, your name isn't John Smith. 

 

WRAPPING THINGS UP AT THE END OF THE DAY:  Before going home, we will need your help packing sales items into the cars, cleaning up the tables, taking out the trash, and returning the fellowship hall to the condition it was in when we arrived.

 

LODGING AND CAMPING: Foray fees do not include meals or lodging.  If you're interested in a motel or hotel room, please consider supporting the Windwood Fly-in Resort and the Black Bear Resort.  Those resorts bailed us out last year, when Canaan Valley had to cancel our foray accomodations at the last minute because of a water main break.

 

For a small, intimate location try the Windwood Fly-In Resort (888) 359-4667. It is located 3 miles north of Canaan Valley State Park.  The folks who stayed there last year felt that the rooms were large and comfortable, the staff was welcoming and friendly, and the convenience of having Amelia's restaurant on the premises was a real plus.  They have 17 rooms, 14 of which have 2 double beds and 3 have king sized beds.  The rates for two people, including tax, is $72.80 per night.  http://www.windwoodresort.com/

 

If you want to make a mini-vacation out of your foray weekend, consider reserving at the Black Bear Resort (800) 553-2327. They have a tennis court and a pool to keep families busy during the day, while we were out hunting mushrooms.  Black Bear is located just north of Canaan Valley State Park.  The rate for a double room starts at $145 for one night.  They also have hotel suites with fireplace and jacuzzi for $245.20 for 2 nights and stand alone cabins for less than $300 for 2 nights.  For a map of the premises and more info, please visit: http://blackbearwv.com/wp/lodging/all_lodging_at_a_glance/

 

For lodging at Canaan Valley State Park, visit http://canaanresort.com. They have camping facilities, cabins, hotel rooms and a restaurant at the lodge. For more info, call 800 622-4121 or 304 866-4121.  There are too many activities to list here, but check out this link if you're bringing your kids or non-mushroom loving friends:  http://canaanresort.com/rates-activities/

 

Camping: Also, some foray attendees wanting a more private, nature experience will be staying at the Dolly Sods campgrounds.  They do not have electricity, but they do have well water and a bathroom.  This area is about a 40 minute drive from Dry Fork.  After visiting their website, if you decide you'd like to stay there and are interested in carpooling to and from the foray, please let us know and we can connect you by email with somebody else who will be camping there.  http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mnf/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=7003&actid=51

 

Another campground: Harman Mountain Farm Campground. It is closer than Dolly Sods and is south of the recreation hall where we are having the foray.  Visit their web page for a description of their facilities and rates: http://www.harmanmountainfarm.com/facilities.html.

 

For other lodging in the area, visit: http://www.tripadvisor.com/AllLocations-g1534448-c1-Hotels-Canaan_Valley_West_Virginia.html

 

FORAY FEES:  Foray fees do not include meals or lodging.  It simply covers our overhead (just barely). We are a non-profit organization in every sense of the phrase. The fee for attendance is $35 per person.  If you send your check and foray registration form to us beore June 30th, 2013, the fee will be $25 per person.  Children under 12 and folks over the age of 80 are free, so bring the family and indicate on your foray application how many people in each age group will be attending.

 

VOLUNTEERS:  The success of our foray depends on you!  We always find that the more we put into a foray, the more we get out of it.  We offer discounted foray fees and other incentives for our organizers and volunteers and we have needs in every area you can possibly imagine, from set up to clean up and everything in between.  Please click here to join our team.  We can't thank you enough!

 

WHAT TO BRING:

-Any mushrooms you find near your home or along the way.  We'll have a separate table for them when you arrive.  Please remember to label where you found them and write your name on the plates where you place any specimens that you want returned to you (otherwise they get composted or returned to the forest).

-Lunch, water, snacks

-The kids

-Your camera

-Bug spray, sunblock, chap stick, hat, basket, egg crate for small specimens

 

Labor Day Weekend Pizza Camp in Weston Florida:  We got an email from a couple setting up a camping/cooking weekend on their property.  Here's the 4 minute video explaining how you can join the fun:  www.campcalabash.com  The WV mushroom club cannot participate this year, but we thought we would pass along the info to anybody who might be interested.

 

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Privacy Policy:  We will never sell or distribute your email address to any commercial enterprise.  Period.

 

Shelly
geez...@aol.com

--Forwarded Message Attachment--

West Virginia Mushroom Club

Application for Foray Attendance or Membership

About Our Club: We are a non-profit organization that provides a venue for the sharing of ideas, experiences, knowledge and common interests regarding fungi; we furnish mycological information and educational materials to those who wish to increase their knowledge about fungi; and we promote interest in mycology and mycophagy.

Please PRINT the name of EACH family member attending this foray

 

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

_______________________________________________________________Address

 

_____________________________________________________City, State, Zip Code

 

_____________________________________________Email address

�(Please print clearly � email is our primary way to reach you)

 

(________)_______________Telephone number (used only if we can�t read above info)

 

PLEASE NOTE: NONE OF THE ABOVE INFORMATION WILL EVER BE SHARED WITH ANYONE

 

Disclaimer

Foray attendance and club membership are voluntary and people who don't feel comfortable with our position on the following should refrain from joining the club and/or participating in club activities or forays.

No matter what happens to you, your family, your guests, or your property at or on the way to or from meetings, walks or forays, it is not the fault of the club, its officers, members or identifiers, even if alcoholic beverages were made available to you before, during or after the event. It is your responsibility to control your consumption of alcohol.

You fully assume the risks associated with attending, participating in, traveling to and from foray locations, and hiking trails that may contain dangerous terrain, people, animals, or vegetation.

It is your responsibility to determine whether a mushroom or other fungus is safe to consume before you consume it. You assume the risk of illness, injury, accident or death when you consume any items prepared or made available to you at a club meeting or one of our forays. It is possible that there may be items at a foray or meeting that contain one or more mushrooms or other fungi that were misidentified by the person or chef who prepared them and you assume that risk when you consume those items. You might have a reaction or allergy to consumable items, including mushrooms that are generally considered to be safe or edible. There is also the possibility that you can get sick or die after eating a mushroom, even if you have safely eaten the exact same genus, species and variety before. No matter what the cause, if you get ill, injured, have an accident or die after consuming items prepared or made available to you at a mushroom meeting or foray, it's not the fault of the person who prepared the items, the attendees at the foray, the club, or any of the club's officers, members or identifiers, it is your fault for consuming it without first assuring that you can safely do so. Also, be aware that a mushroom you see on display at a foray may not be the same mushroom named on the identification tag beside it. We have seen instances where foray attendees pick up and study a mushroom and then inadvertently place it on the wrong plate on the table when they return it. So a mushroom labeled as an edible mushroom may not necessarily be the same mushroom that the mycologist initially identified and placed on that plate. Also, some specimens may not have been identified by foray mycologists, but by enthusiastic, but mistaken, amateurs trying to help out. Finally, please use sensible precautions before eating any mushroom, even if you feel certain about its identity: eat only a small amount and save a specimen for analysis by personnel in the emergency room, hospital laboratory or coroner's office.

I have read the warnings in the disclaimer, I understand the risks, and I decided to join the club and/or attend the foray anyway. I agree to release, hold harmless, and indemnify the club, its officers and its members and identifiers for any responsibility for illness, injuries, accidents or death sustained by myself, my guests, my family and/or my property while traveling to and from or while attending meetings, walks or forays.

 

____________________________________Signature� _____________________Date

Please check all that apply so we can try to tailor future activities for you:

______I'm an amateur

______Cooking with mushrooms

______Dying, making paper, making jewelry or other crafts using mushrooms

______Mushroom art/graphics/illustration

______Mushroom photography

______Cultivation

______Selling mushroom items

______Speaking/educating about mushrooms

______Writing about Mushrooms

______Mushroom Research, DNA Sequencing, Toxicology

______I can help the club by doing something that can be done by telephone or computer

______Web Page maintenance (pretty please - we are REALLY desperate!!)

______Newsletter editing

______Copying and mailing newsletters (club pays expenses, you do the work)

______Publicity (calling/emailing your local newspaper with info about forays)

______Depositing checks and bookkeeping

______Preparing and filing tax info for the mushroom club

______Keeping membership info up-to-date

______Purchasing (with club funds) & bringing items to forays or meetings

______Helping with registration at forays

______Leading a foray walk (i.e. return with same number of people you left with)

______Culinary (helping with food prep at forays or sharing recipes for newsletters)

______Mushroom identification at forays

Annual Membership Dues: $20 individual $25 family, payable to

West Virginia Mushroom Club, HC-68 Box-128, Bowden, WV 26254