Press & Promotion Kit

StaRGazing 2027, the Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa® Regional Gathering: February 19–21, 2027, Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles Westside, Culver City. Talks, live game shows, games and meals, for Mensa members and their guests. glaamrg.org

StaRGazing 2027 is the Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa® Regional Gathering: three days of more than 30 talks, games and shows, February 19–21, 2027, at the Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles Westside in Culver City. Keynote speaker Dave Lopez shares 48 years of Los Angeles news, Hands On Buzzers puts attendees on live game shows, and six meals are included. Details and registration at glaamrg.org.

Join Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa® for StaRGazing 2027, its Regional Gathering, February 19–21, 2027, at the Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles Westside in Culver City, three miles from LAX. The weekend packs in more than 30 talks, games and shows. Keynote speaker Dave Lopez looks back on 48 years of reporting Los Angeles news for KCBS Channel 2, and on Saturday night Hands On Buzzers turns the room into a live game show where attendees are the panelists and contestants. Karaoke Night opens the weekend on Friday, the game room and the StaRGazers Lounge stay open late, and six meals, from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch, come with a weekend registration. Sunday brings a Kids Track for young members, and parents come free. Mensa members and their guests are welcome, and the hotel has a group rate until January 19, 2027. Everything else, including registration online or by mail, is at glaamrg.org.

Game shows, a Mars veteran and 48 years of L.A. news: Los Angeles Mensa® gathers in Culver City

StaRGazing 2027 brings more than 30 talks, games and shows to the Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles Westside, February 19–21, 2027.

For one weekend each winter, members of Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa® trade their day jobs for a hotel full of talks, puzzles, game shows and conversations that run late into the night. This year’s edition, StaRGazing 2027, takes place February 19–21, 2027, at the Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles Westside in Culver City. It is the chapter’s first Regional Gathering in Culver City since 1981, when members met at the Pacifica Hotel for a weekend they called LARGO.

A Regional Gathering is Mensa’s version of a reunion, a conference and a game night rolled into one. The Los Angeles chapter has held one nearly every year since 1980, and the shape has barely changed: three days, Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, with programs running in several rooms at once and a hospitality suite that keeps everyone fed.

The keynote speaker is Dave Lopez, who reported for KCBS Channel 2 for 48 years and covered every major Los Angeles and Orange County story of his era: the riots, the O.J. Simpson case, and a confession from William Bonin, the “Freeway Killer,” made to Lopez himself.

Other speakers include Dave Lehman, a 40-year veteran of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, on getting to Mars; Jim Underdown of the Center for Inquiry, whose $500,000 prize for proof of the paranormal has never been claimed; linguist Richard Lederer on history, with puns; Richard Smiley on who really wrote Shakespeare; Jerry Rishe on the fixers who kept Hollywood’s scandals quiet; historian Colleen Adair Fliedner on the dark origins of Griffith Park; Mayank Kejriwal on what artificial intelligence can and cannot do; Sally Westlake on outsmarting modern scams; and Sandy Masuo on the sex life of plants.

The weekend’s headline event is Hands On Buzzers, a live game show in which the audience becomes the panelists and contestants. Friday opens with Karaoke Night, and the game room and the StaRGazers Lounge stay open long after the last talk ends.

Six meals are included, from Friday dinner through Sunday lunch, prepared by Head Chef Valerie Spear, who has cooked for this and other Southern California gatherings for years, with vegetarian choices. On Sunday, a Kids Track keeps young members busy all day.

“Mensa members are known for their test scores, but what they really share is curiosity,” said Randall Mills, co-chair of StaRGazing 2027. “For one weekend, that curiosity has somewhere to go: a talk on Mars in the morning, a game show at night, and a conversation in the lounge that runs well past midnight.”

StaRGazing 2027 is open to Mensa members and their guests. Registration, the full schedule and hotel information are at glaamrg.org; the hotel’s group rate for attendees is available until January 19, 2027.

About Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa®: Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa (GLAAM) is the Los Angeles chapter of American Mensa, with about 1,600 members, and has hosted a Regional Gathering nearly every year since 1980. More at glaam.org.

MEDIA ALERT
For release until February 21, 2027
Contact: Randall Mills, co-chair, StaRGazing 2027 · (email address) · glaamrg.org

Mensa® members gather in Culver City February 19–21 for talks, live game shows and a weekend of puzzles

WHO: Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa® (GLAAM), the Los Angeles chapter of American Mensa, the high-IQ society.

WHAT: StaRGazing 2027, GLAAM’s annual Regional Gathering: three days of more than 30 talks, games and shows. Keynote speaker Dave Lopez looks back on 48 years of reporting Los Angeles news for KCBS Channel 2. Other speakers include Dave Lehman, a 40-year veteran of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, on getting to Mars; Jim Underdown of the Center for Inquiry, whose $500,000 prize for proof of the paranormal has never been claimed; linguist Richard Lederer on history, with puns; Richard Smiley on who really wrote Shakespeare; Jerry Rishe on the fixers who kept Hollywood’s scandals quiet; historian Colleen Adair Fliedner on the dark origins of Griffith Park; Mayank Kejriwal on what artificial intelligence can and cannot do; Sally Westlake on outsmarting modern scams; and Sandy Masuo on the sex life of plants. The headline event, Hands On Buzzers, is a live game show in which attendees are the contestants.

WHEN: Friday, February 19, through Sunday, February 21, 2027.

WHERE: Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles Westside, 5990 Green Valley Circle, Culver City, CA 90230.

WHY: Mensa’s Regional Gatherings bring members together for learning, games and conversation. It is the chapter’s first Regional Gathering in Culver City since 1981.

HOW: Open to Mensa members and their guests. Details and registration at glaamrg.org. Others interested in attending may write to (email address).

About Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa®: Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa (GLAAM) is the Los Angeles chapter of American Mensa, with about 1,600 members, and has hosted a Regional Gathering nearly every year since 1980. More at glaam.org.

About American Mensa®: American Mensa is an organization open to anyone who scores in the top 2 percent on an accepted standardized intelligence test. Mensa has more than 50,000 members in the United States and more than 130,000 members globally. For more information about American Mensa, visit americanmensa.org or call (817) 607-0060.

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About Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa®: Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa (GLAAM) is the Los Angeles chapter of American Mensa, with about 1,600 members, and has hosted a Regional Gathering nearly every year since 1980. More at glaam.org.

About American Mensa®: American Mensa is an organization open to anyone who scores in the top 2 percent on an accepted standardized intelligence test. Mensa has more than 50,000 members in the United States and more than 130,000 members globally. For more information about American Mensa, visit americanmensa.org or call (817) 607-0060.