The organizers of the events listed on this calendar have expressed willingness for members elsewhere in the world to join in. Please don’t give them a bigger crowd than they can handle, and do be careful about time zones. The displayed time zone is GMT! If you add them to your own calendar, the time zone should convert to your specified time zone.
To have your virtual event added to this calendar, contact Matt C., the CAM International Calendar contact.
There may be other virtual events, as well as in-person events, which may be of interest to CAM members, hosted by various local groups listed on the American Mensa Calendar of Events.
1/ Tuesday
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ChiMe Activity Bulletin and Advertising Deadlines. Last day for these submissions to the September ChiMe. Interested in organizing and hosting a virtual or in-person event? Find out how by checking out our guide to hosting events.
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ChiMe Editorial Deadline. Last day for editorial submissions to the September ChiMe. Please submit original articles, insights, puzzles, brain teasers, or short poems. Your fellow Chicago Area Mensa members would love to hear from you.
3/ Thursday

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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. Join a video chat with our kin from across the big pond in London at 2 PM BDT. I [Carey] participated previously, along with a few other CAM members, and had a very nice chat with some of our “siblings” in the London area. RSVP to local host Carey S. to receive the Zoom sign-in information. The London host is Ian David Moseley.
Virtual Event!!
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Downtown Lunch: Virtual 1 PM. Perhaps the longest running Mensa event anywhere, Chicago’s Downtown Lunch is held every week, alternating between Tuesday and Thursday. Join us for conversation, laughs, and attempts to define words you’ll never use again. The Zoom id is 836 1178 6315 and the passcode is 190710; it is also included as part of your host Jon G.’s contact information if you prefer a link. Questions? Contact Jon via e-mail or call/text him. We’d love to have you join us!
Virtual Event!!
8/ Tuesday
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Downtown Lunch: Virtual 1 PM. See Thursday, August 3rd.
9/ Wednesday
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Northern Exposure Dinner 6:45 PM. Frost in August? Then you should have dinner with us. Join us at Jameson’s Charhouse, in Vernon Hills for burgers, steaks, chops, fish, ribs, salads, and more. Located at 151 E. Townline Rd. in Vernon Hills. Please RSVP on Meetup or via Janice’s email, jesser@chicago.us.mensa.org , so she can reserve a big enough table.
10/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, August 3rd.
11/ Friday

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Rockford Mensa Dinner 6:30 PM. Join Dave and other Rockford-Area Mensans for dinner at the Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom located at 6280 E. State St. in Rockford (east of Mulford in Logli’s lot). To RSVP , for more information, or to get on our e‑mail list, contact Dave L., our Rockford-Area Coördinator. RSVP required in case of cancellation, time, or venue change. This event is usually recurs on the second Friday of the month.
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Poetry Discussion Rescheduled. This event is usually held on the evening of the second Friday of the month.
Event Rescheduled for Next Friday!!
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Best Perseid Meteor Shower Viewing will reach its maximum rate of activity tonight and tomorrow night. Some shooting stars associated with the shower are expected to be visible each night during the week before and after. For more information, see the space.com website. There are also some amazing photos posted on Flickr.
Public Event!!
12/ Saturday

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Saturday Movie & Dinner 3:50 PM. The movie we’ve selected is Jules, a movie that is not about a diamond heist. Join us at the AMC Randhurst 12 Theaters, located at 200 Randhurst Village Dr. in Mount Prospect. After the movie we’ll hike across the street to the Blackfinn Randhurst Grill, located at 157 Randhurst Village Dr., for dinner and debriefing. To RSVP (welcome, but optional), send an e-mail Bill S.. If you show up and can’t find us, text Lisa S.. We hope to see you there!
17/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, August 3rd.
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Downtown Lunch: Virtual 1 PM. See Thursday, August 3rd.
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Mensa Testing 6 PM. The location is in the River North neighborhood of downtown Chicago. You must preregister and prepay — very limited seating. Parking is very expensive; public transit is strongly recommended! Latecomers and anyone without a reserved spot will not be admitted. If you are or someone you know is interested in joining Mensa, see our Testing Information for contact details and additional dates/locations.
Event Not in ChiMe!!
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City Dinner at Joy Yee’s Noodle 7 PM. Join us at Joy Yee’s Noodle for dinner! Located at 2139 S. China Pl. in Chicago (Chinatown). This is a GOBS-subsidized event for which any CAM member and up to one guest qualifies; ½ of your tab will be compensated, including tax and tip, up to a maximum subsidy of $25/person. Subsidy limited to 15 people. RSVP by emailing (preferred) Hilarie C. by Wednesday, August 9th.
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HotTopics 7:15 PM. Premium Mediocre: Some people & organizations are rather competent, and some are not. Why is this, and why do the clearly inadequate persist, rather than fading into obscurity? Could it be in part due to the fact that many have powerful allies & sponsors, and so are not subject to real competition? Luck? Tenacity? Corruption? Join our fun & friendly online/phone discussion on competition. As is customary, polite family & friends will also be joining in the discussion. Visit Chicago Mensa Meetup for more information or to RSVP. The Zoom access info was provided to those who RSVP on Meetup (preferred) or e-mail Mike B.
Meetup Virtual Event Not in ChiMe!!
18/ Friday
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Poetry Discussion 7:30 PM. Our poetry group is now using Zoom for meetings. Interested persons who are not currently members of the poetry group can contact Joe D. , and he will e-mail the poems to be discussed or you can view them by tapping/clicking here. This event is usually held on the evening of the second Friday of the month.
Virtual Event!!
Event Schedule Change!!
19/ Saturday
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Conservatives Lunch 11:30 AM. Join other members of the Mensan cell of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy for lunch and civilized un-PC conversation. No forbidden questions, no unchallengeable answers. This lunch happens on the third Saturday every month, but the location changes and can’t always be determined in time to make the ChiMe schedule. If you’re curious about the location at this month’s meeting place, e-mail Jim Z. the event coördinator. Open to non-Mensans; bring a conservative friend.

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Beverly Area Saturday Salon (B.A.S.S.) ~Noon. Spontaneous conversation in far SSW Chicago, approximate vicinity of 107th St. & Western Ave. Please contact Rick E. the Beverly Area Coördinator, for this month’s location and the exact time as well as more information; if e‑mailing, put “BASS” in the subject line. This event usually recurs on the 3rd Saturday of the month, about midday.
22/ Tuesday

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Breakfast in Mount Prospect 10 AM. Breakfast or lunch and conversation at Jelly Café located at 1784 W. Golf Rd. in Mount Prospect (northwest corner of Golf Rd. and Busse Hwy.), featuring a large and diverse menu. Dining might be indoors or outdoors, depending on conditions. Separate checks are available. RSVP to Ken L. via e‑mail. If you RSVP by e-mail, your reservation is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation e-mail.
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Downtown Lunch: Virtual 1 PM. See Thursday, August 3rd.
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Dinner Out West 6:30 PM. Dinner Out West goes out for steak! Join us at Jameson’s Charhouse, 94 Stratford Dr. in Bloomingdale. This is a GOBS-subsidized event. GOBS will cover ½ of your meal cost, including tax and tip (rounded up to the nearest dollar), up to a maximum subsidy of $25, for each CAM member and their guest. Cash, Venmo, or PayPal for your portion. Limit 20 people. Reservations are required so Beth knows how big of a table to reserve. RSVP via Meetup (preferred) or directly to Beth W. no later than Sunday, August 20th.
23/ Wednesday
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GOBS Request Deadline Noon. Today is the last day to submit a request for GOBS funds to be approved at this Saturday’s Business Meeting for any planned, eligible event, activity, or class taking place after Saturday, August 26th and through Saturday, September 30th or later; to be eligible, events involving CAM members must be published in the issue of ChiMe corresponding to the month in which they occur. For CAM events, it’s recommended you submit the GOBS request and get it approved before submitting your event information for publication in ChiMe — so no later than today for events planned for October or later. October events need to be submitted by the 1st of September to the activities editor to be included in the October ChiMe. An article must be featured in the October ChiMe for GOBS-subsidized November events with an RSVP deadline in October (same 1st of September deadline but article e-mailed to the editor; see editorial deadline).

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GOBS NSEW Dinner in Libertyville 6 PM. Join us at Jimmy’s Charhouse. located at 1413 Peterson Rd. in Libertyville. Please be on time or early. If you arrive early, you are welcome to enjoy Happy Hour in the bar area, between 4 and 6, where the cost of both the drinks and appetizers are reduced. I plan on arriving by 5. This is a GOBS-subsidized event where ½ the total cost (including tax plus a 20% tip, rounded up to the nearest dollar) of a CAM member’s, and up to one guest’s, dinner will be covered for a maximum of fifteen people — for a maximum subsidy of $25/person; cash (no coins) only for your portion. RSVP (and get more details) on Meetup, but if not on Meetup, e‑mail Ken L..
24/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, August 3rd.
26/ Saturday
Our next
Monthly Gathering
is on
September 30th.
The September gathering
will be held
at the
Rolling Meadows Community Center
3705 Pheasant Drive, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
The locations
of the MGs vary.
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Monthly Gathering
The location of our August Monthly Gathering was in the Johnson Center on North Park University’s campus, where the building is east of 5141 N. Christiana Ave. in Chicago (no address on building).The Johnson Center (building 17 on the printable map) is northwest of the river, south of Foster, east of Kimball, north of Carmen, and west of Spaulding). Our main room is Bistro (1st floor) and both the test and presentation will be held on the 2nd floor (above Bistro) in Rooms 209 and 211, respectively. Campus security will not ticket or tow any of us who are parked in student or faculty parking. The Monthly Gathering venue section has more detailed information about parking and transit. Please note that we have this venue only until midnight, so plan accordingly. This gathering is open to the general public. So if you’re interested in learning more about Chicago Mensa, come join us. There is an admissions fee to help cover costs (major credit cards accepted).
Test:5 PM.Business Meeting:5 PM.Game room opens:6 PM.Program:7:30 PM.Refreshments:8:30 PM - Midnight.Game of the Month - Farkle:9 PM - Midnight.Volunteer
Get involved! Hone your leadership, organizational, or web skills. We’re looking for volunteers to fill some of the open positions listed both in the back of ChiMe or on the List of Officers. Try your hand as the Gifted Youth Coördinator, ChiMe Editor, Recording Secretary, website designer, or as a MG Hospitality Volunteer. You can view the job descriptions and the required qualifications for all the open positions and ones you may be interested in. Or consider supervising the children at the MG for some extra cash.
* * * * *
Express Yourself
Write an article, submit a photo, or create a puzzle for ChiMe; see our Submission Guidelines for contact information and deadlines. Host your own event or your own virtual event using Discord!Program Topic: Chicago International Film Festival
presented by Michael Kutza
Suburbanites - this speaker will be worth the trip!
Michael will share with us his experiences founding the Chicago International Film Festival at age 22 and being its artistic director for over 50 years. He is a graphic designer, filmmaker, film critic, and podcast co-host.
Growing up on Chicago’s West Side, he decided in his early 20s that his town desperately needed a truly international film event to call its own. In 1965, he launched the festival with assistance from silent screen star Colleen Moore and legendary director King Vidor.
Show all…Michael presided over an annual gathering that would, over the next half-century, host a veritable Who’s Who of the film world — from Harold Lloyd to Clint Eastwood, Bette Davis to Viola Davis, Steven Spielberg to Spike Lee, Guillermo del Toro to Jodie Foster, Lauren Bacall to Al Pacino. At the same time, the festival helped introduce a plethora of new talent that would go on to revolutionize the movie business, including Tom Cruise, Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone and Helen Mirren.
Sophia Loren, Oscar winner and legendary star, has said, “Michael is the real deal. He has heart, a great sense of humor, and he loves films for all the right reasons. I am blessed to call him a friend.”
Oscar winning director of Platoon, JFK, and Born on the Fourth of July, Oliver Stone, commented, “For many of us, Michael Kutza brought the great city of Chicago to life with his infectious love of film.”
Michael’s book, Starstruck: How I Magically Transformed Chicago into Hollywood for More Than Fifty Years, was published in 2022. It is a provocative, sexy, colorful, irreverent memoir that details his wild ride that transformed Chicago into an essential cinematic destination. He also narrated the audio book which was recently released.
Show less
27/ Sunday

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Theodore Talk: The Galileo Project: In Search for Technological Interstellar Objects 2:30 PM. The search for extraterrestrial life is one of the most exciting frontiers in science. First tentative clues were identified close to Earth in the form of the extraordinary interstellar meteor CNEOS 2014-01-08, the unusual interstellar object `Oumuamua and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) near Earth. The recently announced “Galileo Project” ushers the new frontier of "space archeology" in search of extraterrestrial technological relics. See the full write-up and find contact info on the American Mensa Events website. Even if you can’t attend the live Talk, as long as you register you will receive a link to a recording of the event. Closed captioning enabled.
Virtual Event!!
31/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, August 3rd.
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Downtown Lunch: Virtual 1 PM. See Thursday, August 3rd.

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New Members Zoom Gathering 7 PM. You are invited to attend this New Member CAM Zoom Gathering. Join us if you are a new member, if you haven’t yet gotten active, or just want to welcome our newest members and share your Mensa experience. Come learn more about CAM and Mensa and how to get the most out of membership. And it’s virtual — you can dip your toe in the water and hopefully this will make joining an in-person event that much more comfortable. Join us on Zoom or call in using the info available as part of host’s contact info. The Zoom info is also accessible in the August ChiMe.
Virtual Zoom Event!!
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Super Moon Viewing tonight.
* * * * *
1 September/ Friday
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ChiMe Activity Bulletin and Advertising Deadlines. Last day for these submissions to the October ChiMe. Interested in organizing and hosting a virtual or in-person event? There’s bound to be an activity or a restaurant you want to try, but you just want some other people to experience it with you. So invite your fellow Mensans. Find out how by visiting our guide to hosting events.
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ChiMe Editorial Deadline. Last day for editorial submissions to the October ChiMe. Please submit original articles, insights, puzzles, brain teasers, photographs, or short poems. Your fellow Chicago Area Mensa members would love to hear from you.

HalloweeM 47: On the Silver Screen
October 26 – 29, 2023
Only 32 more days! Join us for a fun long weekend with hundreds of Mensans, their families, and friends at the Westin in Wheeling including lots of programs and games as well as most meals. Register for a discount by October 13th. Book your room by October 5th. Time and space are running out — sign up for one of the Excursions, which is open to all WeeM attendees, now!
RSVPs:
To protect our members’ privacy, contact information has been removed from this listing but is available on our website for members only. Each of the CAM events has a link to the host’s RSVP information which also takes you to this same information.
Password Issues?
You must use the AM password reset. If you forgot your id (e-mail address), contact the National Office. Their phone number and e-mail address are at the bottom of AM login webpage.
Event E-Mails
CAM members will get periodic Mensa Connect e‑mails about upcoming events, including ones that did not make it into ChiMe, or to get notified of any special events or last minute changes.
Activities Bulletin
August 2023
August | ||||||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |

Already a CAM Discord member?
Simply open up the Discord app, look for the
CAM
icon on the very left, and tap/click on it. You’ll often find fellow gamers online
even when no official CAM event is taking place.
New?
A few days before the event, check out the Introductory Guide to Discord as well as our CAM Discord FAQ for instructions about downloading the Discord app on the device you’ll be using, and registering yourself. Read the doc and/or peruse the various questions and answers to familiarize yourself with our customized version.
About three days prior to the event, the Invitation Link, needed only by new CAM Discord users, will be available as part of the event host’s contact info as a button. Tap/click on the button, then tap/click on the Invitation Link, and it will open the Discord app you installed. You must acknowledge the displayed Code of Conduct to see all the rooms (aka channels). Do this by tapping/clicking on the emoji symbol at the bottom that best describes Your membership category. Once you’ve done that, you’re in and won’t need an Invitation Link again.
When you join a Discord event you won’t automatically see all the participants like in Zoom when the host lets you in or you join a meeting in progress. Instead you’ll scroll down and find the channel specified as part of the event info. You get to see the list of names indicating who is in the channel before you tap/click on it to join. And if there is someone presenting, you’ll need to tap/click on the presenter’s feed or double-click the Live button next to the presenter’s name to enlarge the feed.
It may feel weird at first but the learning curve is pretty short and chances are you’ll like it better than Zoom and choose to use it to video call a fellow Mensa member/group who is part of the CAM Discord community and definitely to play online games while chatting with everyone participating.
RSVPs - Always contact the CAM event host as specified in the event details — e-mail , phone , text , or Meetup .
Meetup
Meetup and the website sometimes include events that are not in the August ChiMe. So consider signing up for this great tool and then join the CAM group — an active Mensa number will be requested to verify your Mensa membership. Because Meetup notifies the host directly, it doesn’t require the same RSVP contact information that is on our website and in ChiMe.
- RSVP, but you should always contact the CAM event coördinator as specified. A few CAM event coördinators are not members of Meetup, so for those events, your RSVP there only lets other CAM Meetup members know you are attending, plus you benefit by getting reminders.
- It’s easy to use Meetup to add the event info to your personal calendar.
- Set up notifications and Meetup will e-mail you about upcoming events. (You can adjust your Meetup e-mail settings to limit notifications to one e-mail/day.)
And why not host your own event, virtual or in-person?
Chicago Mensa Meetup - All our events are listed; see who signed up, get notifications, and add the event(s) to your personal calendar. Check out the calendar,
Meetup
Meetup and the website sometimes include events that are not in the August ChiMe. So consider signing up for this great tool and then join the CAM group — an active Mensa number will be requested to verify your Mensa membership. Because Meetup notifies the host directly, it doesn’t require the same RSVP contact information that is on our website and in ChiMe.
- RSVP, but you should always contact the CAM event coördinator as specified. A few CAM event coördinators are not members of Meetup, so for those events, your RSVP there only lets other CAM Meetup members know you are attending, plus you benefit by getting reminders.
- It’s easy to use Meetup to add the event info to your personal calendar.
- Set up notifications and Meetup will e-mail you about upcoming events. (You can adjust your Meetup e-mail settings to limit notifications to one e-mail/day.)
And why not host your own event, virtual or in-person?
Chicago Mensa Meetup - All our events are listed; see who signed up, get notifications, and add the event(s) to your personal calendar. Check out the calendar,