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Date/Time
Date(s) - 09/24/2022
7:30 am - 6:00 pm

Location
The Lodge at North Park

Category(ies)


Mark your calendars now for the 22ed annual Gary Lincoff Foray. Registration is SOLD OUT. Join the DNA barcoding project here: WPaMC 2022 Gary Lincoff iNat Sequencing Project Here are the events we’ve planned for that weekend:

A Pre-Foray Walk walk will be held on Friday, September 23rd at Cooks Forest (meet at Shelter 2), 10:00 am – 3:00 pm with Park Ranger Dale Luthringer. There is no cost or registration to attend the pre-foray walk but you will be responsible for your own transportation and lunch. Driving directions to Cooks Forest: https://wpamushroomclub.org/events/lincoff-foray-at-cook-forest-state-park/
The Gary Lincoff Foray will be held on Saturday, September 24th at North Park in The Lodge, 7:30 am – 6:00 pm. The WPMC club will be selling T-shirts and books (cash and credit accepted). Vendors and a cultivation table will be selling nature-themed merchandise and cultivation kits. Please note that some vendors may only accept cash. Driving directions to North Park: https://wpamushroomclub.org/locations/the-lodge-at-north-park/.

Guest speakers include Arleen and Alan Bessette and Stephen Russell. Activities will include:

  • Guided morning walks
  • Mushroom display tables
  • Book-Signing / Meet & Greet
  • Auction, Sales Tables & Vendors
  • Cooking Demonstration
  • Mushroom Feast
  • Table Walk

Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club cooks will prepare a Mushroom Feast with dozens of unique mushroom dishes to delight your taste buds.

Foray Time Schedule

7:30-8:15 a.m. – Registration & Sign-Up for Morning Walks

8:15-9:00 a.m. – Overview of Program & Introductions

9:00 a.m.–Noon – Guided Morning Mushroom Walks

12:00-1:00 p.m. – Lunch

1:00-2:00 p.m. – Arleen Bessette – “Polypore Identification – Where to Begin?”

2:15-3:15 p.m. – Stephen Russell – “The Next Generation of DNA Research”

3:15-6:00 p.m. – Live Band, Yard Games, Mushroom Display, Book Signing, Visit Vendors

3:30-4:00 p.m. – Cooking Demonstration

4:00 p.m. – Auction Results

4:30-5:30 p.m. – Mushroom Feast

5:30-6:00 p.m. – Table Walk with Alan Bessette

Guest Mycologists​

Alan E. Bessette is a distinguished emeritus professor of biology at Utica College of Syracuse University. A professional mycologist, he has authored or coauthored more than twenty-five books. At the Lincoff Foray, Alan will help us with mushroom identification and will do a table talk at the end of the day.
Arleen R. Bessette has authored or coauthored eighteen books. She will be giving a presentation on Polypores. Both Alan and Arleen will be available to sign their books at a “Meet & Greet” session in the afternoon.
Stephen Russell

Title: The Next Generation of DNA Research

Stephen Russell is a mycologist from Indiana working on a biodiversity survey of all of the macrofungi (mushrooms) that occur in the state. He founded The Hoosier Mushroom Society in 2009 and is currently the President of the organization. His initial interest in mushrooms began with cultivation, which led to writing a book titled The Essential Guide to Cultivating Mushrooms (Storey Publishing, 2014). Stephen’s current project is a citizen science and DNA based exploration of local fungal biodiversity, which has now generated thousands of new DNA-sequenced collections of fungal fruitbodies from across the state – amassing records for over 2,000 unique species. Stephen is currently a Ph.D. candidate in mycology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He also holds a Masters of Public Affairs (MPA) and a Masters of Environmental Science (MS) from Indiana University, as well as an undergraduate degree in Political Science and Communications from Purdue University. When not working with fungi, Stephen works as the CTO for a private equity firm.


We will follow the CDC Covid guidelines that are in place September 23rd -24th . County-level masking guidelines for Covid risk levels are as follows:
  • Low – optional
  • Medium – recommended
  • High – required for indoor spaces, recommended for outdoor spaces
Follow this link to check community levels for Clarion and Allegheny Counties (select them in the drop-down menu) the night before the events to help you prepare: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html

If any WPMC member registers for the Lincoff Foray but becomes unable to attend due to Covid, a refund will be issued on request.

Please see the Covid Guidelines for the foray.

Please consider volunteering at the event to make it a success. You can contact [email protected] for more information.


The event is SOLD OUT! For more info, contact the Foray Chair:
[email protected]

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Sometimes the address and location information for a meeting point is not 100% accurate. Some parks and meeting point do not have a street address so it is difficult to program the map to point to the exact location. Click on the link for any additional driving directions and meeting point information to The Lodge at North Park.

We request that no one hunts a walk or foray location for at least two weeks prior to a walk or foray. It is only through your cooperation that we can have successful walks and forays. All walks & forays will be held rain or shine. Come 15-30 min early and socialize. All walks start on time, so be early, if you are late we will already be in the woods. If you are a club member and have already joined our Facebook Group you can find last minute additions or changes there.