North
Dakota Mensa’s Regional Gathering, 2007:
Dinosaurs
and Fireworks: Have a bang-up time in the former home of T-Rex!
The Dakotas are dinosaur
country.
Our 2007 RG will feature
a presentation by Gary Olson, who digs them up himself.
The fourth annual Regional Gathering of North Dakota Mensa
will be held at the beautiful President’s House Guest Inn at Valley City State
University, Valley City, North Dakota. It will include a musical evening at the
President’s House, potluck picnic, fireworks, and a presentation on dinosaurs
by Gary Olson, “The Dinoguy,” who
personally digs them up and will show slides of the digs, tell us fascinating
stories, and bring bones (including a Tyrannosaurus Rex jawbone and toe, a
Triceratops femur, and a Stegosaurus tail spike) that we can see and touch.
Gary gave his wonderful presentation on Sunday afternoon
at the 2006 RG. By that time, though, all but four of our 11 attendees has
drifted away, so Gary kindly offered to give it again in 2007, on Saturday,
when the most Mensans are present.
June 4: This RG is over now
and was wonderful! Click to see photos.
Click here to see
pictures from the 2006 RG in web page form.
Click
here to see pictures from the 2006 RG in thumbnail gallery form.
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 here to see the
2005 RG web page.
Click to read more
about the President’s House from a Mensan viewpoint.
Dates: June 1 –
3, 2007
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: Musical
Evening, Pizza Lunch; Dinosaur Lecture; Potluck Picnic, Canoeing, Fireworks,
Restaurant Brunch
Contacts: Shirley
Starke (email)
Ann Knudson - (701)-223-2962
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.
Registration: Please email 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 mailed to Shirley Starke, 3408 120th Ave. SE,
Valley City, ND 58072; make checks payable to North Dakota Mensa.
Schedule:
Friday, June 1:
1 PM: President’s House opens; Mensans begin to arrive and settle in.
5 PM: RG officially begins
6 PM: Supper (to be determined - either a catered dinner or buy-you-own subs which we will eat in the formal dining room)
7 PM: Mensa conversation; a musical evening with the President’s House antique player piano, at least one pianist guest who plays wonderful Classical and Ragtime, and all the talents/instruments you’d like to bring.
Saturday, June 2:
12 noon: Pizza lunch with lemonade, coffee, Zota Soda (a special treat from Vermont)
2 PM: Dinosaur presentation by Gary Olson, www.dinoguy.com. Click to see some pictures of his presentation in 2006.
4:30 PM: Potluck picnic, Chautauqua Park; canoeing; horseshoes; any other outdoor games (lawn darts?) you want to bring.
10:00 PM: Fireworks outside city limits (in Shirley Starke’s yard)
Sunday, June 3:
10 AM: Brunch at the Broken Spoke restaurant
11 AM – 3 PM: Church attendance optional; conversation; relaxing; cleanup at President’s House
3 PM: President’s House closes; end of RG
Costs:
Registration: $10.00
(Includes pizza lunch with Zota Soda. Coffee and lemonade included throughout
the RG.)
Rooms at the President’s
House:
Double room: $50
Single room: $40 (taken)
Share a double: $35 (one
room with twin beds available). This option becomes available if two guys or
two women request it.
The President’s House also has
a roll-away bed which can be placed in the attic room or cool basement; 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 $50/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
Friday dinner: Subs from
Subway about $3 (6”) to $6 (12”); or if we have a catered dinner, $12.
Beverages will be provided.
Dinosaur Lecture: FREE, and
fossils will be available for sale if you want a souvenir of the RG.
Potluck Picnic: A dish to
share. (Locally-purchased deli food is fine if you are coming far or don’t
cook.)
Fireworks shoot: FIREWORKS
to share ($10 donation by May 15 if you can’t get them).
Restaurant brunch: Order
your own from the Broken Spoke’s excellent menu.
(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…)