Ninth
Annual Regional Gathering, 2012
Ragtime, Pizza, Antiquing, Picnic, Canoe Rides, and Fireworks!
Our 9th Annual
Regional Gathering will be at the beautifully restored President’s House Guest
Inn at Valley City State University. This former residence of the college president
has been restored to its 1910 splendor, but with modern amenities complete with
wi-fi. We will have a short ExComm meeting on Friday, followed by a musical
evening with the house’s antique player piano, which has literally dozens of
original rolls of music from the 1920s, and live music by talented Mensans if
some are willing to play. There are lovely rooms upstairs at the President’s
House where you can spend the night.
On Saturday we will have a pizza
lunch on the screened porch, followed by an antiquing expedition for those so
inclined and games and conversation for the other. Saturday evening will start
with a potluck picnic at beautiful Chautauqua Park, followed by canoe rides and
- if someone wants to pilot North Dakota Mensa’s inflatable boat, Moby Wan -
races between Moby and Ann Knudson’s canoe. At dusk we will have fireworks
(outside the city limits, in Shirley Starke’s yard a few miles from town). We
have plenty of fireworks, but ask guests to bring more if they can, and
hobbyists who make their own fireworks are very, very welcome!
We will finish on Sunday
morning with a brunch at the Broken Spoke restaurant, which has some of the
best omelets you have ever tasted!
We hope to see you there!
Dates: June 8-10, 2012
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, Potluck, 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 8:
1 PM: President’s House opens; Mensans begin to arrive and settle in.
5:30 - 6 PM: Supper: We will pick up subs at Subway, then indulge ourselves by eating them on good china and crystal in the formal dining room!
7 PM: ExComm Meeting – all attendees welcome; all elected or appointed officers can vote. Our first ExComm meeting was held on the screened porch and soon morphed into a beautiful wine and candlelight party, with soft breezes from the mysterious woods just beyond the screen – maybe we can do that again!
8 PM: Mensa conversation; a musical evening with the President’s House antique player piano, and all the talents/instruments you’d like to bring.
Saturday, June 9:
12 noon: Pizza lunch with lemonade, coffee, and pop
2 PM: Expedition to the Antique Mall (it’s huge!) and other antique shops for those who want to go. Games and excellent conversation for those who don’t.
5 PM: Potluck picnic at Chautauqua Park, followed by canoe rides and release of a flame-powered balloon
10:00 PM: Fireworks outside city limits (in Shirley Starke’s yard)
Sunday, June 10:
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: $30.00
(Includes pizza lunch. Pop, coffee and lemonade included throughout the RG.)
Rooms at the President’s
House:
Double room: $60
Single room (one
available): $50
The President’s House also
has a roll-away bed; see
this page for details.
Those who sign up after the
President’s House is filled can stay at the Wagon Wheel Inn, where they will do
their best to give the Mensa group adjacent rooms, or the luxurious AmericInn,
both right up the hill from the President’s House. The Wagon Wheel also has an RV
park – BYO RV. J
Friday dinner: Subs from
Subway about $3.50 (6”) to $6 (12”).
Potluck: A dish to share.
(Locally-purchased deli food is fine if you are coming far or don’t cook.)
Fireworks shoot: FIREWORKS to
share if you can get them! $5 (or more) donation towards the group-provided
fireworks if you can’t.
Restaurant brunch: Order your own
from the Broken Spoke’s excellent menu, which includes delicious omelets as
well as pancakes, etc.
|
Previous Regional
Gatherings: RG 08: Click to
see pictures of RG 08 in a thumbnail gallery. Click to see
Peggy Pannke-Smith’s gallery of photos (4-MB pdf file). 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. |
Mensans Canoeing on the
beautiful Sheyenne River. Photo by Erin Koffler. |
