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/ Sunday
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ChiMe Activity Bulletin and Advertising Deadlines. Last day for these submissions to the February 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 February ChiMe. Please submit original articles, insights, puzzles, brain teasers, or short poems. Your fellow Chicago Area Mensa members would love to hear from you.
5/ 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 BST. 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 (via Meetup preferred). 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 838 9384 8564 and the passcode is 312084; 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. You may also RSVP via Meetup. We’d love to have you join us!
Virtual Event!!
8/ Sunday
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Futures & Fantasies 2:15 PM. We will discuss a novel TBA. Most likely we’ll meet on zoom since COVID will probably still be an issue. To RSVP , or for more information about this event and/or SIG, contact Steve M., the SIG coördinator. You may also RSVP on Meetup. F&F usually meets on the second Sunday of most odd-numbered months.
Virtual Event!!
10/ Tuesday
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Downtown Lunch: Virtual 1 PM. See Thursday, January 5th.
11/ Wednesday
RSVP for Northern Exposure no later than 10 AM. You may RSVP via Meetup.
12/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, January 5th.
13/ Friday
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Rockford Mensa Dinner 6:30 PM. Join Dave and other Rockford-Area Mensans for dinner at Franchesco’s Ristorante, located at 7128 Spring Creek Rd. in Rockford (just east of Perryville Rd. and behind JMK Nippon restaurant). 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 or restaurant change. Do not RSVP via Meetup since Dave is not a member. This event is usually recurs on the second Friday of the month.
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Poetry Discussion 7:30 PM. Our poetry group is using Zoom — with closed captions — 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. Contact Roy L. for the Zoom link or any help you might need. Do NOT RSVP via Meetup. This event is usually held on evening of the second Friday of the month.
Virtual Event!!
16/ Monday
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Martin Luther King Jr. Day
18/ 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, January 22nd and through Saturday, February 18th 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 March or later. March events need to be submitted by the 1st of February to the activities editor to be included in the March ChiMe. An article must be featured in the March ChiMe for GOBS-subsidized April events with an RSVP deadline in March (same 1st of February deadline but article e-mailed to the editor; see editorial deadline).
19/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, January 5th.
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Downtown Lunch: Virtual 1 PM. See Thursday, January 5th.
21/ 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 and the COVID restrictions at this month’s meeting place, e-mail Jim Z. the event coördinator. You may also RSVP via Meetup. 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.
Our next
Monthly Gathering
is on
August 27th.
The August gathering
will be held
at the
Rolling Meadows Community Center
3705 Pheasant Drive, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
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Monthly Gathering
(Date & Location Tenative)
The location of our January Monthly Gathering may be on a date TBD at the Rolling Meadows Community Center
3705 Pheasant Dr. in Rolling Meadows.Games and hospitality are in the spacious auditorium, with overflow space in the lobby. The speaker event is in the Card Room. A Parents-Kids Play Room is available after the Mensa Test. 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 PMBusiness Meeting:5 PM.Socializing :7 PM in the Hospitality channels.Nominations for Local Officers:7:30 PM in the MG Speaker channel.Program:~7:35 PM.Refreshments:8:30 PM - Midnight.The Nominating Committee is looking for qualified candidates to run for the elected positions on the Chicago Area Mensa Board of Directors. If you’re interested or just curious, see Deb J.’s article in the February 2022 ChiMe for details. You can also view the job descriptions and the required qualifications.
MG Date/Location is Tentative!!
* * * * *
The Deadline for Candidate’s Statements is Thursday, February 23rd. The statements for publication in the April ChiMe are to be no longer than 500 words and cannot include any boldface, italic, or larger type; the person to whom they should be e-mailed has yet TBD.
* * * * *
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 Testing Coördinator, Communications Officer, website programmer, 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.
* * * * *
Express Yourself
Try your hand at writing an article for ChiMe, submitting a photo, or creating a puzzle; see our Submission Guidelines for contact information and deadlines. Host your own event or your own virtual event using Discord!
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Lunar New Year
Year of the Rabbit
24/ Tuesday
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Downtown Lunch: Virtual 1 PM. See Thursday, January 5th.
26/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, January 5th.
* * * * *
1 February/ Wednesday
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ChiMe Activity Bulletin and Advertising Deadlines. Last day for these submissions to the March 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 March 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.
Activities Bulletin
January 2023 (Tentative)
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 , or Meetup .
Meetup
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 January calendar.
Facebook - The following CAM area- and youth-related groups have their own closed Facebook groups which may have events not listed here nor on Meetup (contact them to join):
- Southwest Area Group (SwAG): Kevin & Steve - Coördinators
- Gifted Youth: Stephen - Coördinators
Meetup
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 January calendar.
Facebook - The following CAM area- and youth-related groups have their own closed Facebook groups which may have events not listed here nor on Meetup (contact them to join):
- Southwest Area Group (SwAG): Kevin & Steve - Coördinators
- Gifted Youth: Stephen - Coördinators