HalloweeM 36

As a member of Chicago Area Mensa, I'd like to personally invite you to enjoy our Regional Gathering, HalloWeeM, from October 27-30 in Wheeling, IL.  WeeM (as we tend to call it) is four full days filled with programs, gaming, food, and beverages for all ages as well as hundreds of friends you haven't met yet!
 We have traditional events that happen every year, like:
* Thursday night pig roast
* Friday night pun-filled costume contest  (the theme this year is Spooky Scary WeeM!)
* Pretentious Drinking and Desserts on Saturday night
* Live bands and dancing
* Poker tournament (just for fun and pride, no real money involved)

We also have gaming going 24 hours a day, using our incredibly huge game collection (one of the largest collections in the midwest!). There are programs, including lectures, forums, and interactive sessions.  And, of course, there's hospitality, with our famous soda machines keeping you hydrated, a chilled salad bar, and several hot meals throughout the weekend.

Our hotel, the Westin in Wheeling, IL is only a couple of years old and thus shiny and new-feeling, surrounded by fun restaurants, with lots of space for our hospitality, gaming, and programs.  At only $126 per night if you book by October 1st, the hotel is an incredible bargain for the Chicago area! HalloWeeM is really a great value, too, at just $85 for four full days, including meals!  You can register and book your hotel at our website.

If you want to add even more fun to your HalloweeM, volunteering will put you right in the middle of the action.  By being a volunteer, you'll be entered in a raffle for a great prize, and you'll receive a highly collectible WeeM pin! The design is different every year!  If you'd like to volunteer, contact our volunteer chair.

Or, perhaps you have a great product that Mensans would love?  HalloweeM is the best opportunity to sell your wares or get the word out about your business, by signing up for a vendor table.  Your products will get visibility to hundreds of Mensans!  Contact our vendor coordinator  for details!

HalloweeM is also a great time to indoctrinate--err, I mean, introduce--your non-Mensan friends to the group.  While registration rates are slightly higher for non-members, the difference is provided back to them as a coupon for the Mensa test, so it's a perfect opportunity to bring them to the dark side (where we have smart cookies).

Make sure to book hotel soon, as the block tends to fill up early. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me here or e-mail the event chairs at .  We're also on Facebook (search for HalloWeeM) and Twitter (@ChicagoMensa).  We hope to see you at WeeM!

HalloweeM 36 Logo

Today I'm working on designing the logo for HalloweeM.

(Yes, a lame point for a blog post, but I've been busy)

This Year's 'WeeM Shirt

Shameless RG Promotion

HalloweeM 2010 is October 28-31.

New hotel. Same awesome programming and hospitality.

Registration until 10/14/10 is $70 for Friday through Sunday.

See Chicago's Web site for details.

Kill Dr. Lucky

Life-sized Kill Dr. Lucky game. Think of it as what happens before the game "Clue" begins.

-- Posted from my iPhone

Friday dinner prep

My 13yo daughter is Hospitality co-chair!


-- Posted from my iPhone

Meet the AMC

Here I am at the session. Heather, Cyndi, Ken, & Greg are here, too. Only two non-AMC members are here. We're just chatting and rehashing last weekend. Chicago is not exactly a hot bed of discontent. Plus we're not handing out shots.

-- Posted from my iPhone

I have no idea

Damian and too many shoes. I think it has something to do with an after-scotch-tasting joke.

-- Posted from my iPhone

This is only Thursday!

About 200 enjoying the pig roast.

-- Posted from my iPhone

Registration Opens!

-- Posted from my iPhone

It's good to be queen

Robert Little gives Beth Anne a break.

-- Posted from my iPhone

No tubs of ice for WeeM!

-- Posted from my iPhone

Setting up for WeeM

-- Posted from my iPhone

WeeM Complication

Turns out kids have important tests in school on Fri, so I'm going to have to shuttle them back and forth from the hotel to school. An hour each way. So much for thinking I might get to do a FriPlay.


-- Posted from my iPhone

Volunteer pins

I picked up the volunteer pins for this year's HalloweeM. Wow-- they turned out very classy, if I say so myself! Will you be earning one this year? To learn more, to, register, to make karaoke requests, etc, go to the WeeM Web site.

Pomykala-(v)

1) To handle or fix a sudden problem, often before it even becomes apparent.

2) To acquire necessary items or things on short notice by unknown means, especially without any hotel charges.

3) An especially complete process, such that once a complicated situation is "pomykala'd" a WeeM chair can forget all about it for the whole weekend.

HalloweeM

October 23-26, 2008

Register soon! The next price cut-off is October 15. The $99 hotel rates are good until October 3 ( yes, the forms say the 13th, but I am recalling that this is wrong... I'll check and post an update).

See HalloweeM Web site for more details, programs, shirts, etc.

What a Wonderful ‘WeeM!

Numbers are still forthcoming, but it looks like there were around 525 people there, not including the speakers. Everything went well and a good time was had by all. Including the volunteers. Janet Century will be stepping down as Chair and Beth Anne Demeter and I will be taking over for next year. Even before this event was over, all of the major chairs said they were willing and happy to do it again next year and several others came forward and asked to be appointed to positions.

We are also starting to make our plans for the other two gatherings we’ll be hosting next year: AGOG and BFD. Those will be smaller, of course—only 100-200 people and just two days instead of WeeM’s three and a half.

Despite the eulogies on some of the Yahoo lists, the “spirit of volunteerism” is alive and thriving in Chicago.

Kill Doctor Lucky

Today's HalloweeM chore: painting the lines on half of the canvas for a re-usable Life-Size Kill Doctor Lucky board. Why lines on just half? Because this thing is so big only half can be unrolled at a time in my garage— and it's a two and a half car space!

HalloweeM Programs

And here it is, hot off the virtual press:
HalloweeM Program Book

Bring a time-turner if you have one!