North
Dakota Mensa’s Regional Gathering, 2006:
Potluck
Picnic, Dinosaur, and Fireworks RG
– we
will have a bang-up time!
The third annual Potluck Picnic and Fireworks Regional
Gathering will be held at the President’s House Guest Inn at Valley City State
University, Valley City, North Dakota, on June 17-18, 2006. Besides the
admission test, potluck picnic, and fireworks that we enjoyed so much in 2005,
we will have a treasure hunt at Chautauqua Park on Saturday evening and a
speaker on dinosaurs and fossils on Sunday afternoon at the President’s House.
Click
here to see pictures from the 2006 RG.
Click here to see
pictures from the 2004 RG.
Click here to read
the LocSec’s column about our 2004 RG.
Click here to read
the Editor’s column about our 2004 RG.
Click to read more
about the President’s House from a Mensan viewpoint.
Dates: June
17-18, 2006
Place: Valley
City, North Dakota:
The
President’s House Guest Inn, www.presidentshouse.com
Chautauqua
Park
The Broken Spoke Restaurant
Click here for maps and directions.
Activities: Pizza
Lunch; Admission Test, Potluck Picnic, Treasure Hunt, Canoeing, Fireworks,
Overnight Stay, Restaurant Brunch, Fossil and Dinosaur Lecture
Contacts: Ann
Knudson and Shirley Starke, Co-Chairs (mailing
addresses and phone numbers are on the contacts page).
Who Is Invited? All Mensans, especially our neighbors in South Dakota,
Minnesota, Montana, and Canada; their spouses, kids, friends and (if you have a
place to stay overnight with them) pets; and those who test for Mensa
membership at our June 17 testing session.
Registration: Please email ndmensa@valkyriepub.com to let us know you are coming. Walk-ins won’t be turned
away, but might accidentally miss us, and the sooner you let us know, the
better choice you will have if you want a room at the President’s House.
Registration and room fees can be brought to the RG or mailed to Shirley
Starke, 3408 120th Ave. SE, Valley City, ND 58072; make checks payable to North
Dakota Mensa.
Schedule:
Saturday, June 17:
1 PM: Meet at The President’s House Guest Inn, VCSU, for pizza lunch (included in registration); settle in.
2 PM: Mensa Admission Test
5 PM: Chautauqua Park: potluck picnic; treasure hunt; canoeing, horseshoes; any other outdoor games (lawn darts?) you want to bring.
10 PM: FIREWORKS, outside city limits. (We will go as a group to Shirley Starke’s yard to shoot them.)
Sunday, June 18:
10 AM: Brunch, Broken Spoke restaurant.
1 PM: Presentation on dinosaurs and fossils by Gary Olson, who personally digs them up. This promises to be fascinating!
2:30 PM: Cleanup at President’s House.
3 PM: President’s house
closes; end of RG.
Costs:
Registration: $6.00
(includes pizza lunch with lemonade, cherry cola, and – a special treat - Zota Soda from Vermont).
Rooms at the President’s
House:
Double room: $45
Single room: $35 (taken;
ask for spot on waiting list)
Share a double: $25 (one
room with twin beds available)
There is also the option of
putting a cot in the attic room or cool basement, free; see this page for
details.
Those who
sign up after the President’s House is filled can stay at the nearby Wagon
Wheel Inn, about $40/night, where they will do their best to give the Mensa
group adjacent rooms. The Wagon Wheel also has an RV park – BYO RV. J
Potluck Picnic: FREE; bring
a dish to share. (Locally-purchased deli food is fine if you are coming far or
don’t cook.)
Fireworks shoot: Bring
FIREWORKS to share if you can get them!!!
Restaurant brunch: Order
your own from the Broken Spoke’s excellent menu.
A small donation to help
cover the group’s expenses is appreciated but optional.
(Why are costs so low?? This is a full-scale RG, and it might just be the best one you’ve ever attended! Registration and costs are low because were aren’t using the RG as a fund-raiser but only want to have a great time and cover our costs – and by keeping costs low, we hope to attract as many Mensans as possible. The more Mensans, the more fun – call it a “fun-raiser”…groan…)