From 2007 to 2019, local skeptic activists organized Skepticamps. They were loosely organized one day events in which local area speakers gave presentations about various skeptical topics. Most were free events, with the expectation to either give a presentation or volunteer to help run it. Skepticamps were alternatives to the big name conventions, like TAM or CFI’s gatherings. While the big events focused on presentations by big name speakers, Skepticamps were grassroots affairs that were much more democratic.

I was an organizer and presenter at Chicago Skepticamp for years. My presentations were based on my experiences publishing the Bolingbrook Babbler. My favorite was about the people who thought the Babbler was a serious news source. The story about ghosts who were cryptozoologists created a stir in a Bigfoot forum. It was fun, and I got work with my friends in the Chicago Skeptics group.

Unfortunately, I started drifting away from the members. When I tried to promote my novel, The Rift, my flyer was firmly rejected. One of the co-leads anonymously told me The Rift was crap. She’d never read any of my drafts, but because it dealt with the deep rifts in the movement, it couldn’t have been good. It turned out not to be a big deal because The Rift wouldn’t be ready for publication for several more years. Looking back, it felt like the beginning of the end. Later one, one person passive aggressively call my wife and I, “The Brinkmans,” even though my wife kept her last name. My association with Chicago Skeptics came to an end when I rage quit their Facebook group, and wouldn’t let me rejoin.  I went on to join FtB, finishing The Rift, and volunteering at Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation.

Last week, I found out that Chicago Skepticamp was back. This time it’s in Deerfield, IL, a suburb of Chicago. I suspect there’s a new group behind its resurgence, which I’m fine with. I doubt I’ll attend, but it is bittersweet to see it return. I wish the new organizers the best.

If you’re interested in attending, it’s on July 27 from 12:00 to 6 PM at Demetri’s Greek Restaurant. Two notable speakers are Notable speakers include Rabbi Adam Chalom and Susan Gerbic.

Rabbi Chalom is the dean of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism and rabbi at Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation. He recently co-edited Contemporary Humanistic Judaism: Beliefs, Values, Practices.

Susan Gerbic runs Guerrilla Skepticism, a private group of skeptics who edit Wikipedia pages to promote skepticism. Haley Stevens and PZ Myers have posted their issues with Guerrilla Skepticism.

The organizers say they will have more speakers. I hope, in the spirt of Skepticamp, they’re either not as well known, or maybe people speaking publicly for the first time.