Apply here for the 2008 Clark Rogerson Foray!
Every Fall, COMA spends a long weekend at a wooded
resort in central Connecticut, hunting mushrooms at nearby state parks, eating
gourmet mushroom dinners, and swimming in the pool. We also make good use of
the abundance of experts by identifying our finds to our hearts' content. Clark
Rogerson, who the foray is named after, was the head
mycologist at the New York Botanical Gardens for many years, and mycologist
emeritus at the time of his recent death at the age of 95. Clark was very
supportive of amateur mycology, and believed very strongly in helping those who
were just starting out. He spent weeks identifying every specimen found on club walks, and
he was never too busy to help identify specimens that amateurs brought in to
him. COMA is proud to have named the foray after him while he was still alive
to appreciate it. You can read more details about Clark by clicking here,
(temporarily unavailable) on the New York Botanical Gardens' website.
You can read an article about last year's foray by clicking here.
COMA's 31th annual Clark Rogerson foray will be held from Thursday, August 21rd through Sunday, August 24th at the Moodus Resort in Moodus, Connecticut. Leon Shernoff, editor of Mushroom the Journal, will be our chief mycologist. Other experts will include Rod Tulloss, Dr. Roz Lowen, Sandy Sheine and John Plischke III.
The COMA Foray has access to an abundance of very productive areas. Nearby parks include Meshomasic State Forest, Natchaug State Forest, Salmon River State Forest, Day Pond State Park, Devil's Hopyard State Park and Gay City State Park. Because of this, we typically harvest more than 300 species each year (including, last year, about 50 kinds of boletes). (We would have a lot more, if Gary were more of a splitter.)
Our mycophagy sessions (one per day) feature dishes made from chanterelles, black trumpets, beech rooters and assorted boletes (mostly bicolor).
A printable reservation form is available by clicking here. Adobe Acrobat Reader is necessary to read the checklist. If you do not have it already, you can download Acrobat Reader for free by clicking here.
The 4-day fee includes 3 nights's lodging and 9 meals, from dinner on Thursday to lunch on Sunday. (You must provide your own lunch if you arrive on Thursday.)
Free activities include indoor swimming, mycophagy and evening programs. A pool will be available on Friday and Saturday for your dunking pleasure. Our evening programs are also in the planning stage, but we will definitely have another delightful TCHOTCHKA AUCTION. Please bring unwanted mushroom memorabilia for the TCHOTCHKA AUCTION. Leon Shernoff, famous publisher and tchotchka auctioneer, will conduct the auction.
We will try to find car pools for those needing transportation. We can also accommodate people who wish to attend for shorter periods of time.
You will receive a confirmation by August 1, along with driving instructions. If you have any questions, contact me, Don Shernoff, at (914) 761-0332 or donshernoff@yahoo.com
Webmaster contact: Karen Spiak; kspiak@wcs.org