The Olympic Peninsula Mycological Society (OPMS) is a nonprofit, volunteer organization dedicated to learning about and enjoying wild mushrooms and their environments. It was originally founded in 1977 as the Jefferson County Mycological Society. Now, most members are from Jefferson and Clallam counties in Washington State, from Brinnon to Joyce with the highest concentration in Sequim. The society is open to anyone. OPMS holds six meetings during the year to promote the safe enjoyment of wild mushrooms. Usually there is a guest speaker for a specific topic, but sometimes the meetings are devoted to hands-on identification of specimens that members bring to the meeting. The November meeting is devoted to mushroom preparation and cooking demonstrations. Meetings alternate between the Tri-Area Community Center in Chimacum and the Gardiner Community Center. In addition to the six meetings, OPMS conducts at least two forays for wild mushrooms for its members each year. In the spring we go into the Cascade Mountains in search of black morels and other spring mushrooms (snow mushroom, pink-tipped coral, boletes). A second foray is in the fall to the eastern Olympic Mountains for golden chanterelles, russulas, boletes, hedgehogs, and matsutake (or the pine mushroom). In October of each year, OPMS produces its annual Fall Wild Mushroom Show that is free and open to the public. Annual dues are $15 per family or $10 per single person. Currently, we have about 210 members and membership is growing rapidly. OPMS members may participate in classes on mushroom identification, mushroom cultivation and using mushrooms to dye fabric. OPMS produces at least two newsletters each year and usually six.   OPMS 2010 Fall Meeting Schedule Sep 8, Gardiner Community Center Oct 13, Tri-Area Community Center Nov 10, Gardiner Community Center Upcoming Events Our next meeting is Wednesday, September 8, Gardiner Community Center The doors open at 6:30 pm for socializing and mushroom identification. (Bring some wild mushrooms to show others or to have identified). The Program starts at 7:00 pm. Our guest speaker will be Langdon Cook, a professional writer and editor as well as a forager. Cook was a senior editor at Amazon.com until 2004; now he is a freelance writer and lives in Seattle. He has been a reporter for the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Berkeley Voice, and The Stranger (Seattle) and written for Gray's Sporting Journal, Outside, Fly Fisherman, Northwest Palate, and others. He is a graduate of the University of Washington's MFA program, and lives in Seattle. His latest major effort is the 2009 book Fat of the Land: Adventures of a 21st Century Forager. It examines foraging in the PNW, natural history, and oddball characters. It will be available for $26.95 at our meeting. This will be the second time this year that Langdon has spoken to us.  In April he spoke about foraging for a wide range of wild food.   His program September 8 will focus on mushrooms. Click on the book cover above to visit Langdon Cooks blogspot: Fat of the Land Mushroom Identification Workshop   25 – 26 September Tri-Area Community Center 10 West Valley Road Chimacum. OPMS 2010 Wild Mushroom Show   17th of October Noon to 4:00 pm Elk's Sequim Lodge, 143 Port Williams Rd, Sequim, WA 98382. The moss foray will be on Friday, the 15th, and field trips to collect mushrooms for the show will be on Saturday, the 16th of October. Show setup will be Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm, with a potluck to follow from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. We can also set up on Sunday from 9 am to noon. Would you like to join OPMS? If so, download the OPMS membership form, fill it in, write a check and send it in. You can learn more about the organization and leadership of OPMS in our Constitution and Bylaws. Links to other mushroom clubs: Kitsap Peninsula Puget Sound Snohomish County North American Mycological Association South Sound Links to mushroom cultivators: Mushroom Cultivation Group Lowell Dietz's mushroom farm in Sequim For more information write: O.P.M.S. P. O. Box 33 Chimacum, WA 98325 You can reach OPMS President Lowell Dietz by phone at 360-477-4228 or by e-mail at: