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 November 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 November ChiMe. Please submit original articles, insights, puzzles, brain teasers, or short poems. Your fellow Chicago Area Mensa members would love to hear from you.
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Zoom Lunch 1 PM. Perhaps the longest running Mensa event anywhere, Chicago’s Zoom Lunch (formerly known as the 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 email or call/text him. You may also RSVP via Meetup. We’d love to have you join us!
Virtual Event!!
2/ Wednesday
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Rosh Hashanah starts at sundown.
3/ Thursday
9/ Wednesday
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Northern Exposure Dinner 6:45 PM. ZIP code fall within the Arctic Circle? Then you should have dinner with us. Join us at Kabul House in Evanston for some truly exquisite Middle Eastern fare. Located at 2424 Dempster St. in Evanston. NOTE: This event will be capped at 12 people. 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, October 3rd.
Virtual Event!!
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Zoom Lunch 1 PM. See Tuesday, October 1st.
11/ Friday
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Rockford-Area Dinner 6:30 PM. Join Dave and other Rockford-Area Mensans for dinner at the Thunder Bay Grille located at 7652 Potawatomi Trail in Rockford (NE corner of State St. and Bell School Rd., in front of the Holiday Inn). To RSVP , for more information, or to get on our email list, contact Dave L., our Rockford-Area Coördinator. RSVP required in case of cancellation, time, or venue change. Do not RSVP via Meetup. This event 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, the 18th!!
14/ Monday
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Dinner Out West: Old World style 6:30 PM. We’re going to Riganato Old World Grille, a well-rated Italian (and some Greek) restaurant at 700 E. State St. in Geneva. 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 $15, for each CAM member and their guest. Cash, Zelle, or PayPal for your portion. Limit 20 people. Reservations are required so Beth knows how big of a table to reserve. RSVP via Meetup (strongly preferred) or directly to Beth W. no later than Saturday, October 12th.
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Indigenous People Day
Columbus Day
(Federal Holiday).
The actual day that Columbus reached land in North America was the 12th.
15/ Tuesday
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MELT at Alexander’s Cafe 11:30 AM. Join us for the first MELT (Mensans Eating Lunch Together) at Alexander’s Cafe, 1725 N. State St. in Elgin. You can have breakfast or lunch—it’s up to you. Check out their menu. We can accommodate 12 people. RSVP by Sunday, October 13th, via Meetup (strongly preferred) or directly to Beth W.
New Recurring Event!!
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Zoom Lunch 1 PM. See Tuesday, October 1st.
17/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, October 3rd.
Virtual Event!!
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WeeM 48: Road Trippin’ Hotel Discount Deadline! Today was the last day you could book a hotel room at the WeeM discount rate of $129 at the Chicago North Shore Westin in Wheeling.
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Supermoon Viewing tonight. Also a Hunter’s Moon. This is third of four consecutive supermoons and the closest. For more information about supermoons, visit earthsky.org.
18/ Friday
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Poetry Discussion 7:30 PM. Our poetry group is using Zoom for meetings. Interested persons who are not currently members of the poetry group can contact Joe D. , and he will email the poems to be discussed or you can view them by tapping/clicking here. Do NOT RSVP via Meetup. This event is usually held on the evening of the second Friday of the month.
Schedule Change!!
Virtual Event!!
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WeeM 48: Road Trippin’ Preregistration Deadline Alert! Join the fun at WeeM at the Chicago North Shore Westin in Wheeling starting Thursday, October 30th through Sunday, November 2nd. Today was the last day you could preregister for WeeM and qualify for a discount. Also, if you’re paying by check, it must have been received no later than today or any discount for which you qualified at the time of registration will not be honored. Come to WeeM and register at the door if you haven’t preregistered.
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. The venue will be The Patio, 2780 S. Highland Ave. in Lombard (NW corner of Butterfield and Highland, but you can enter only from Highland). RSVP by emailing Jim Z. the event coördinator. You may also RSVP via Meetup. Open to non-Mensans; bring a curious 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 emailing, put “BASS” in the subject line. This event usually recurs midday on the 3rd Saturday of the month.
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Rainbow Mensans Restaurant Outing 5:30 PM. We’re going once again to All Meal Prep Kitchen & Café , located at 1100 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. in Chicago (Edgewater). Please contact Jim, the Rainbow SIG Coördinator (email or text preferred) by the evening of Thursday, October 17th, so that we can reserve sufficient seating. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jim C. via email or visit our website at RainbowM.org.
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Inquiring Minds: Lights, Camera, Chaos! Surviving and Thriving in a Very Crazy Business: Tales of a 35-Year Journey 1 PM. During this interactive session, we will delve into Bob Presner's journey through the film and television industry. We will follow a 16-year-old aspiring musician who evolved into a pivotal behind-the-scenes figure in numerous productions. The session will chart the unexpected career progression of this young folksinger who transitioned into a seasoned assistant director, production manager, line producer, and completion guarantor in the high-stakes world of show business.
You will have the opportunity to ask Bob questions, in the Zoom Meetings format. You might want to know about his experiences rubbing shoulders and egos with acting legends such as Donald Sutherland, Angie Dickinson, and Russell Crowe. You will gain insight into the behind-the-scenes chaos and excitement of high-profile film sets, including tense and hilarious moments with rap icon Tupac Shakur and wrestling with the larger-than-life personality of Hulk Hogan.
As the former president of Film Finances Canada and vice-president of Motion Picture Guarantors, as well as a line-producer, production manager, and assistant director, Bob Presner has been involved in over 500 projects, including feature films, TV movies and series, commercials, and documentaries.
For all the details and to RSVP , visit the American Mensa Events website.
Virtual Event!!
20/ Sunday
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SFRM: Humans in Space 4:30 PM. Doctor Gary Kitmacher has worked for NASA at Johnson Space Center, Marshall Space Center, and NASA Headquarters for 44 years. He was especially involved as a designer of the ISS and Mir space station modules. He has served as a Principal Investigator for several experiments and flight activities.
For more details, visit the SFRM Zoom RSVPs FB Group. To register, visit San Francisco Regional Mensa (SFRM)’s registration signup for this event.
Virtual Event!!
21/ Monday
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Irish Mensa Lecture and Discussion: Tatoos 1 PM. Irish Mensa meets virtually on the third Monday of each month at 7 PM Irish Time; a discussion then follows the lecture.
Tattoos are one of the 'distinguishing marks' specified in police descriptions, and long recorded on British passports. They have also often been seen as a form of writing on the body that conveys deeper messages about the bearer’s identity, especially for criminals.
This lecture will discuss the original debates about the tattoo as a sign of criminal identity among 19th century European police and criminal anthropologists. It will conclude the series with some final reflections on the subjective and objective dimensions of identity and identification covered by these lectures.
Professor Jane Caplan is Visiting Professor at Birkbeck, University of London, and Emeritus Fellow at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford. She is a world-renowned historian specialising in Nazi Germany and the history of the documentation of individual identity.
For the full write-up and to join, visit the American Mensa event. One does not have to register for the event — simply click on the Zoom link at the appropriate date and time.
Virtual Event!!
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. Separate checks are available. Use Meetup, but if not on Meetup, RSVP to Ken L. via email. If you RSVP by email, your reservation is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation email.
23/ Wednesday
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Fear-Free Drawing with Pencils 7 PM. Let’s draw! We welcome newcomers. Art Studio of NY has amazing encouraging instructors—and many of us who thought we couldn’t draw at all have discovered that we can. The class is suitable for about age 8 and up—the kids who have joined us have had a great time. Supplies needed: B and 4B drawing pencils (or buy a set of 12 for about $6), a kneaded eraser (or regular eraser), a paper drawing pad (or just regular paper), and optionally, blending stumps. Participants will get the Zoom information prior to the event. This is a GOBS-subsidized event. The subsidized cost is $12.50 per person for one CAM member and one guest. The cost is $25/login if no registrant is a CAM member. To RSVPs and get payment information, email Beth W.. Payment required to hold your spot.
Virtual Event!!
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Mole Day
Avogadro’s Number (6.02 × 1023)
24/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, October 3rd.
Virtual Event!!
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Zoom Lunch 1 PM. See Tuesday, October 1st.
27/ Sunday
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Theodore Talk: Above and Beyond: The James Webb Space Telescope 2:30 PM. The James Webb Space Telescope, successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, is the largest space telescope ever constructed and is giving humanity its first high-definition view of the infrared universe. The JWST is observing early epochs of the universe, revealing how its galaxies and structure have evolved over cosmic time, exploring how stars and planetary systems form and evolve, and is searching exoplanet atmospheres for evidence of life.
Goddard Space Flight Center astrophysicist Matt Greenhouse has served on the James Webb Space Telescope senior staff as Project Scientist for the science instrument payload since 1997. He will discuss the science instrument payload package, which includes four sensor systems that provide imagery, coronagraphy, and spectroscopy over the near- and mid-infrared spectrum, and how these instruments are being used to accomplish the JWST mission and goals.
Greenhouse is the recipient of more than 20 individual performance awards and honors, including the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal and the Robert H. Goddard award for Exceptional Achievement in Science. See the full write-up and find contact info on the American Mensa Events website. Even if you can’t attend the live talk, provided you register, you will receive a link to a recording of the event. Closed captioning enabled.
Virtual Event!!
29/ Tuesday
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Zoom Lunch 1 PM. See Tuesday, October 1st.
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NNW Dinner: Serbian in Mount Prospect 6 PM. We will be dining at Balkan Taste for a casual Serbian dinner. It is located at 2354 S. Elmhurst Rd. in Mount Prospect (in a strip mall on the northwest corner of Elmhurst Rd. (IL Route 83) & Oakton Ave.). This is a GOBS-subsidized event where ½ the total cost (including tax plus a 20% tip, rounded up to the nearest dollar) —for a maximum of $20/person—of a CAM member’s and one guest’s dinner will be covered for a maximum of 15 people. Payment must be via PayPal or in cash; no coins will be accepted. RSVP Ken L. (Meetuppreferred; otherwise via email) by 10 PM, Sunday, October 27th. If you RSVP by email, your reservation is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation email.
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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 (you must arrive before 6 PM to be admitted) 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!!
30/ 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 Sunday, November 2nd and through the Wednesday before the December Business Meeting 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.
31/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 9 AM. See Thursday, October 3rd.
Virtual Event!!
Time Change Due to Daylight Saving Time Change Difference!!
* * * * *
1 November/ Friday
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ChiMe Activity Bulletin and Advertising Deadlines. Last day for these submissions to the December 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 December 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.
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 (email address), contact the National Office. Their phone number and email address are at the bottom of AM login webpage.
Event Emails
CAM members will get periodic Mensa Connect emails about upcoming events, including ones that did not make it into October ChiMe, or to get notified of any special events or last minute changes.
Activities Bulletin
October 2024
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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 — email , phone , text , or Meetup .
Meetup
Meetup and the website sometimes include events that are not in the October 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 email you about upcoming events. (You can adjust your Meetup email settings to limit notifications to one email/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 current calendar
Meetup
Meetup and the website sometimes include events that are not in the October 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 email you about upcoming events. (You can adjust your Meetup email settings to limit notifications to one email/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 current calendar
Come & play at AGoG!
Feb. 14th – 16th