NAMA's 2025 Annual Foray, "NAMA New England" will convene at Potash Hill, a repurposed former college campus, near Marlboro, Vermont, September 11 to 14, 2025!
The lush campus and grounds of Potash Hill feature a variety of housing and community-space options more than ample for our Annual Foray needs as well as hundreds of acres of lush woodland renowned for fungal bounty. Situated in southern Vermont between Brattleboro and Wilmington, the facility is encompassed by a 560-acre property with early 19th-century farmhouses, arts and academic buildings, expansive views and undeveloped forests with an extensive network of trails. Hartford's Bradley Airport is located about 90 minutes away and Boston's Logan Airport is 2.5 hours' drive. There is also daily Amtrak train service to Brattleboro from East Coast cities.
The NAMA Foray Committee team can't wait to build another Field of [Fungal] Dreams for your foraying pleasure and we hope to see you there!
NAMA's Annual Foray Video - in case you haven't seen it, this video tells the story!
Airports with relative proximity to our location include the following:
90 miles to Bradley International, Hartford CT (BDL)
130 miles to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
73 miles to Albany International Airport (ALB)
75 miles to Lebanon Municipal Airport (LEB)
Amtrak has various stops in Vermont, as follows:
13 Miles - Brattleboro, VT (BRA)
35 Miles - Bellows Falls, VT (BLF)
78 Miles - Castleton, VT (CNV)
85 Miles - Rutland, VT (RUD)
Uber / Lyft service is not generally available without an advance reservation.
Registration
Registration for NAMA New England is expected to re-open for general registration on June 13, 2025 at Noon CST.
You must be a NAMA member and login to NAmyco.org to complete your registration, and you can buy more than 1 ticket if you're bringing friends or family.
Note: Cancellation refund policy is 90% refund for cancellation before Aug 1st. After Aug 1st its a 50% refund, and no refund after Sept 1st. We expect registration to fill up quickly, please don't delay in signing up!
Signups for forays and workshops will be available in July, 2025. We reserve 25% of foray spots for paper sign-ups at the event, so if your preferred foray is full, try to arrive early so you can add yourself on the paper signups.
Check-in at Potash Hill opens at Noon on Thursday Sept 11, 2025 Eastern Time.
Staff and volunteers may arrive Wednesday to help with setup.
If you're staying in a dorm room or cabin, you'll get a key to your room.
Everyone will get:
- a NAMA badge with your name (must be worn when onsite)
- NAMA Swag!
- T-shirt with logo from the logo contest
- Printed Program
- Packet of information.
All meals are included for the 4-day event with your ticket. All lectures and forays are free, workshops will have an additional fee.
Daytime hours will be packed with lectures, forays, and workshops! Keynote presentations begin at 6:30pm followed by our popular evening socials gathering hosted by the NAMA Culinary Committee from 8pm to 10pm on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Plan some time to visit the silent auction (and bring some items to donate if wish).
Expect to spend time in the beautiful Person's Auditorium that will be our Voucher space, with plenty of room for tables full of fungi. Some folks may spend the entire event in the Voucher room! We'll have daily table walkthroughs in the voucher area at 5pm to see what amazing Fungi came in each day.
Registration desk will be at the entrance to this auditorium. Also the foray sign-up sheets.
When returning from forays with your found fungi, there will be drop-off tables around the side of the hall. The Voucher space has daily walkthroughs at 5pm where our many amazing ID experts will talk about what was found each day.
The NAMA Store and many other vendors will in the Person's Hall Voucher area too. The NAMA store will have books for all the authors who are lecturing, so you can get them signed!
The Campus
Potash Hill was previously Marlboro College, and then was purchased by the Marlboro Music Festival. They have lots of amazing lecture and workshop spaces, plus dorms and cabins to hold 235 people, and room for campers on their athletic field.
Dorms & Cabins, Camping, or Commuting
Attendees may choose to stay in dorms & cabins, or camp on the athletic field, or stay offsite at local accommodations.
All the dorms and cabins have a mixture of 1-person (1 bed) rooms, and 2-person (2-bed) rooms (you may push beds together if you wish). All beds are twin-sized, and come with a sheet set, blanket, pillow, and towel. All rooms have locking doors. You will receive a dorm room key when you check in. You MUST return the key (and your badge) to one of the badge-return bins at the end of the event.
Dorms and Cabins have hall baths and showers that are shared with other attendees. All dorms and cabins have communal kitchens with refrigerators, and lounging spaces and/or screened-in porches. Its OK to cook in the dorm or cabin kitchens, just clean up, please! We don't have any janitor services, please keep the spaces tidy and take your trash to the outside bear-proof trash lockers. Most of the dorms have coin-operated laundry rooms, and strong fiber-internet WiFi signal that works well even with large groups.
You can drive to the on-campus dorms to unload, but must park in the visitor parking areas during the event. There is one exception for the off-campus Marlboro North dorm, which has parking in front of the dorm. Cabins are all off-campus and allow parking at each cabin.
Dorms and cabins are divided into categories:
- "New" dorms, these are the nicest rooms, recently remodeled, and ADA compliant.
- "Vintage" dorms, are clean and efficient, built in the 1990's, and often have stairs between levels.
- "Vintage" cabins are 2 to 4 person units, also built in the 1990s, rustic but clean.
- "Marlboro North" dorm is 2 miles off campus, an older 1980's two-story "modest" hotel.
New Dorms - these are on-campus, recently remodeled ADA Compliant dorms with modern motif, new furniture, large semi-professional communal kitchens and spacious lounging spaces, hall baths and showers, and elevators for the 2nd floors. These are the nicest dorms.
Most dorms have laundry machines and great fiber-internet WiFi. Dorm attendees must park in visitor parking. Please clean up your dorm rooms when you leave!
Vintage Dorms - are on-campus dorms and apartments that are clean and functional with older 1990's décor and furniture, but well maintained. Usually they have wood or vinyl floors, and some stairs to enter or leave the building. Shared kitchens and lounges in every dorm.
Most dorms have laundry machines and great fiber-internet WiFi. Dorm attendees must park in visitor parking. Please clean up your dorm rooms when you leave!
Vintage Cabins - are off-campus and a 10-minute trail walk from the campus, with parking in front of each cabin. These are rustic well-maintained units holding 2 to 4 people, some are configured as apartments. Shared baths, full kitchens with refrigerators, Wifi, comfortable sitting areas and decks.
There are woods and trails all around. Please clean up your cabins when you leave!
Marlboro North Dorm - this is a single off-campus Dorm that is 2 miles from the campus (not walkable). Its an older 1980's converted Inn, and has "modest" accommodations. Please understand this dorm is quite old, so is priced accordingly. There is no Wifi, but cell signal is good for Verizon.
Plenty of parking right in front, and a 300-acre woods right in back. Some rooms are configured as apartments, and may be good for families with kids and pets.
Camping is available on the Athletic field. Its large and flat, but there's no hookups, therefore its "dry camping". The field is located on campus between the Voucher area and the keynote lecture hall, so its right in the middle of the action! We'll have some porta-potties, and showers will be available in dorm buildings. Camp fires are not allowed. Heavy RV's and trailers must park on the pavement above the field.
Commuters are folks staying in nearby BnB's, hotels, or living near to Potash Hill. We recommend checking with the Brattleboro Chamber of Commerce for recommended local accommodations. Commuters park in the visitor parking during the day, and we'll assume you're having breakfast where you're staying.
Volunteers, Vendors, Open Myc, Sharing, and Safety
Volunteers for this event must contact their host clubs to apply for a job, and will receive a discount for their ticket. If you're inclined to help without needing a discount, we always welcome extra help during the event, and we'll be handing out signed books as a small reward for your assistance. Volunteers may arrive a day early (Wednesday) if they are helping with setup of the event.
Vendors interesting having a sales booth at the event must apply using the Vendor-Advertiser application form. If selected, we'll assign you a NAMA business membership which allows you to select the vendor registration ticket (only a corporate/business NAMA member may select the vendor ticket). Vendors must purchase a full-price ticket, but we won't ask for a percentage of sales or any other fees, and your ticket includes meals and full access to the event, and van/RV camping ("dry camping"), or offsite stay.
Open Myc is an opportunity for anyone be a presenter at this event! If you've got something to say, please use the Open Myc request form. We've got 8 timeslots available, so we'll pick the best 8 proposals, and we'll include your info in the main schedule.
Sharing your culinary creations or beverages is encouraged! Please use the Culinary Submissions form to list your ingredients and any serving requirements. And please plan to label your contributions. All the dorms have shared refrigerators to store your offerings safely until they can be served.
Safety is our top priority. There are a few concerns such as poison ivy, ticks, and wasps. Please review the Potash Hill Welcome Book for important information. Foray leaders will be carrying a limited safety kit, and we'll have a first aid station at the registration area. For anything urgent, please use 911.
