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Check this site in May for information about our 47th WeeM!
You had a great time in years past, and this year promises to be more memorable than ever.
Join the WeeM team! Contact our Chair .
Program
As usual, there will be quite a few different programs available — three tracks so it's impossible to attend them all but, with luck, maybe one you missed in prior years will be offered again. A fourth track includes the tournaments, most of which are included in the list below but there may be more listed here.
Want to make a presentation to your fellow Mensa members and guests? Or run a tournament? Have some information or a topic you’d like to share or wish to see Mensa members and guests compete? Fill out our Speaker/Tournament Form. We will be accepting form submissions for this HalloweeM through Tuesday, October 10th. Should you have any questions, contact our Program Chair or our Tourney Chair regarding adding your program or tournament, respectively.
All submissions will be reviewed and approved based upon content and ability to schedule.
It’s still early days, but so far, this year’s topics (tap/click on a topic for details) include:
- Amazing Race - WeeM Style
- Awards & Announcements
- CAM Board Meeting
- Chair Massage
- Epicurean Experience
- Firehouse M&G
- Friday Night Dance w/ DJ Kenya
- Friday Night Movie
- Gandalf and Aslan on the Silver Screen
- Gen X Ms Meet and Greet
- GenYMs Meet & Greet
- Human Hungry Hungry Hippos
- The Infamous Costume Contest
- The Kids Costume Contest
- Lagniappe Pub Trivia
- Logic Problem Tournament
- Meet Your American Mensa National Board of Directors (AMC)
- Mensa Test
- My Search for the Fountain of Youth Through Yoga
- Photo Booth
- Pretentious Drinking
- Saturday Night Dance with DJ Ed Barta
- Saturday Night Movie
- 7 Wonders Tournament
- Sir Ernest Shackleton and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration
- Take Apart!
- Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament
- Travel to Extreme Latitudes: The Geographic North and South Poles
- Turning Point of the American Revolution: The History and Legacy of the Winter at Valley Forge
- Werewolves of WeeM
- Whimsical M Family Reunion
The hotel layout for HalloweeM can be found here.
Last year’s HalloweeM topics (tap/click on a topic for details), some of which may be repeated, included:
- Adventures in the Comic Book Multiverse
- Amazing Race - WeeM Style
- Awards & Announcements
- Betsy T turns 100
- Calefaction or Gelid? A Compare/Contrast of Wine Tasting
- CAM Board Meeting
- CAM Craft Supplies Swap
- Cannibis and You - Pros Cons & Mythconceptions
- The Case for Kindness
- Chair Massage
- Clandestine - Strategy Game Playtest
- Coleman, Coffey, and the Condor: Chicago’s African American Aviation Pioneers
- Curative Cocktails: Both Modern and Antique
- Destination: Heartland History
- Don't Slow Me Down with that Calculator (Mental Math Methods)
- Dundee Scottish Pipe Band
- Elevator versus Cocktail Speech
- Endless Optimism!
- Epicurean Experience
- Exploring Ecuador
- Family Heirloom Recipes from the Illinois State Fair
- Firehouse M&G
- Flatland/Sphereland
- Friday Night Dance w/ DJ Kenya
- Friday Night Movie
- Gen X Ms Meet and Greet
- GenYMs Meet & Greet
- Get Your “BUT” Out of the Way!
- HalloweeM Paint-a-Pumpkin-Palooza
- HELL’s M’s Meeting
- How Gerrymandering Cripples our Legislatures and What We Can Do About It
- Human Hungry Hungry Hippos
- Improv Comedy Show: The BlueBs
- Improvisation For Fun and Profit
- The Infamous Costume Contest
- Introduction to Crypto
- The Kids Costume Contest
- Lagniappe Pub Trivia
- Live Better With Less
- Logic Problem Tournament
- Make Your Own Hedgehog
- Meet Your American Mensa National Board of Directors (AMC)
- Mensa Test
- The Microbiome and Autoimmunity; Unlocking Clinical Opportunities for Health
- Model Ts: The Car That Changed the World
- Monsters of the Moon - Lost Film Found
- Naval Aviation, a 50-Year Retrospective of Carrier Aviation
- On the Trail of the Ancient Ones
- Our Future Kids
- Photo Booth
- Pretentious Drinking
- Relentless Geekery-Live Podcast-Reunited & It Feels So Good!
- Saturday Night Dance with DJ Ed Barta
- Saturday Night Movie
- Self-Sufficient Ms: Carry-In & Seed Swap
- A Set Back is a Set Up For a Comeback
- 7 Wonders Tournament
- Stress/Anxiety Management
- Tasting of Whiskies of the World: Explore the Diversity!
- Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament
- 3 Journeys through Breast Cancer
- Unintended Impact…One Athlete’s Journey from Concussions in Amateur Football to CTE Dementia
- Video Game Storytelling
- Voyager Gold Record
- Welles Does Wells
- Werewolves of WeeM
- Whimsical M Family Reunion
- The Wonderful World of Pun Competitions – A Modest Travelogue
- Words in Red
Many changes may will occur between now and WeeM but you can expect most of the programs listed above and the traditional ones listed below and, of course, more that haven't been finalized.
Past Programs
Also, you can access our archives (pdf) to view the full program booklets for all past HalloweeMs with the exception of the virtual one in 2020.
HalloweeM Favorites
Thursday

Glass Blowing Excursion
Excursions
There will be excursions for those who arrive early.
Volunteer!
HalloweeM setup starts at ~3 PM at the hotel. As much as we’ve appreciated all the impromptu volunteers in years past, this year we ask you to sign up in advance for Hospitality either online or using the on-site sign-up sheet near registration because, for everyone’s safety, we need to tightly control the number of people who have access to the food preparation area and food in the serving area. Sign up before WeeM starts and earn double and even triple entries for the Sunday morning cash drawings held during the Awards & Announcements Presentation. Winners need not be present Sunday for awards of $25 or more.
Programs
Expect the first program to start at ˜6 PM.
Tournaments
The first tournament will begin at ˜6 PM.
Dinner
Gather in the hospitality area and catch up with your friends while enjoying a great meal including tasty sides at ˜7 PM.
Friday
Costume Parades
The Friday night costume party is one of the unique events that sets the Chicago Area Mensa RG apart from all the others. Mensa grown-ups take dressing up to a new level. Costumes range from fanciful to funny to elaborate and elegant, but the thing for which Mensans are best known are the pun and word-play costumes. In all of them, Mensa-style creativity is obvious. Bring your sense of humor, and your wits, because our puns will keep you guessing and giggling all night long. Make sure to consider this year's theme, ripe for pun-filled humor! Puns, however, are not a requirement. View our pictures to see costumes from ’WeeMs past.
The kids costume parade will precede the adult costumes. As in past years we encourage more adults to attend and support our youth. For those of you who have younger children who might be overwhelmed by hundreds of strangers, who have children with early bed-times, or who simply want to avoid having to explain some of the (occasionally suggestive) puns, this will give kids a chance to dress up and compete for prizes at their own party. If you signed up for baby-sitting, your kids can then go to the Kids Room and you can stay for the adult costume contest.
Dance
Everyone on the dance floor! Requests taken.
Saturday
Pretentious Drinking
Liqueurs. The fancy stuff. Polished, cosmopolitan, perhaps even a bit snooty. The stuff you graduate to from beer and wine. You’d like to know more but, gosh, look at that price. What if that pricey potion isn’t quite the palate pleaser you expected? Rejoice! As in years past, you can sample some truly amazing liqueurs, and your money’s no good here! We will supply a wide range of weird and wonderful concoctions from around the world. You can determine which you’d like to own, which should be left on the shelf, and which you should give to your arch-nemesis as a thoughtful gift. Obviously, you must be of legal drinking age to join us and show proof at registration. Snobbish accents and extended pinkies optional.
Photo Booth
The return of the Photo Booth—this year it will be located near Pretentious Drinking—where you can pose with friends wearing all sorts of fun and silly props. You’ll be given a copy of your photos as a keepsake. See some of the prior years’ photos (2022 , 2021 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2015 or 2014) to get an idea of what to expect.
Werewolf of WeeM Tournament
For those under 21, in addition to the daily Social Deduction games, we will offer a special Werewolf tournament just for teens and tweens after the Epicurean Experience.
Epicurean Experience
Unusual food samples and, occasionally, unique beverages.
This event is alcohol free, so anyone not wearing
an “under 21” badge should visit before partaking of Pretentious
Drinking and show us your PD ticket. (You can keep it.)
Please note: we aren’t serving a meal, just samples and sips, so
come for curiosity, not dinner.
Contests
We’ve also had requests to bring back the Cookie Contest as well as the Scarecrow Decorating Contest from previous years. If you’re a local member or attendee interested in hosting or helping with either of those or another contest idea, please let us know by contacting our WeeM Chair or signing up to add it to the program list.
Dance
More dancing and often karaoke!
Sunday
Chicago Area Mensa Board Meeting
CAM members are invited to attend. Submit any GOBS requests no later than Friday to give the GOBS liaison time to process it during this busy weekend.
Awards & Announcement
Join us in Hospitality to find out who won the various Volunteer raffle cash prizes — it could be you! Volunteers winning smaller cash amounts ($20 or less) must be present. Hear about the AG and other upcoming RGs. Congratulate several well-deserving members who have been volunteering in our organization upon whom AML service awards will be bestowed. And the Hell's M's announce the party animal of this year’s RG.
Amazing Race: WeeM Style Tournament
Join us for the “Amazing Race” for Mensans! Based upon the popular TV reality show, teams of 2-4 competitors complete a variety of tasks, some cerebral, some lighthearted, on their way to the final “Pit Stop” and victors’ bragging rights. Our version is designed for all ages and activity levels, and is sure to be one of the most memorable things you’ll do this weekend!
Mensa Test
If you haven’t officially joined Mensa, today’s your chance. Often there are special offers during October. To be sure of a seat, preregister.
HalloweeM Breakdown
Please volunteer to help us pack up. We need people to put all the decorations away so they can be loaded onto the truck as well as all the kitchen items in Hospitality.