News

Update from Tom Nauman

I was sorry to miss the 12th Annual Illinois State Morel Mushroom Hunting Championship this year, but it’s always nice to hear an update on the events from Tom Nauman. He writes:

We hope the 2007 morel season has been good for you. We didn’t get out as much as we would have liked to, but then, we never do.

At our latitude, the season was late to start due to several nights of freezing temperatures in Mid-April. The peak of our season was the weekend of May 5 and 6. It went downhill from there due to lack of rainfall. Overall, the season was a little better than average. Further south, the freezing nights ended the season for the most part. To the north, the season is in full swing and we’ll be headed to Boyne City, MI for the weekend. For specific reports, view the “Sightings” page.

Randy DeDecker is the Grand Champion of the 12th Annual Illinois State Morel Mushroom Hunting Championship. Randy is a second time Grand Champion. He captured the same title in 2002 and has won several other trophies over the years. This year he collected 164 mushrooms in the two hour time limit. There were 352 competitors. View the complete results for 2007.

We tried something new this year at our festival, The “Morel Tours”. It was a great time. Thirty-three people participated in the three hour excursion. We estimate that they averaged 1.25 to 1.5 pounds each! Plus, they learned from some of the best mushroom hunters we know. We’ll definitely do it again next year. Thanks to our tour guides Chris Matherly, Lynn Laible of Princeville, IL, and Josh Nauman, of Lincoln, IL.

On Monday, May 7, Vicky and Tom had the pleasure of taking the News Team 25, the NBC affiliate from Peoria, IL, on a mushroom hunt. They also introduced some new products this year. You can view them at their catalogue page (click on the “shroom sticks” link when you get there).

© 2007 FUNGIFEST.