On Monday night I participated in trivia at Foster’s Place in Pickton. Last year I joined some friends on a team called Dave & the Busters, and we’ve managed to win several trivia nights—including Monday’s, which brought our grand total to five. I didn’t just write this to brag, though. It seems like trivia has gotten pretty popular as a pastime, so I thought I’d highlight a local example.
Foster’s has a big outdoor area in the back with picnic tables, which is usually where trivia takes place. The hosts are Jordan and Kendall Owens, who are the respective MC and answer-checker for the event. Jordan reads out the questions from a stage (where live bands occasionally play on non-trivia nights). Each team is given sheets of paper to write their answers on, which you bring to the hosts at the end of each round so Kendall can score your answers.
There are three rounds of seven questions which can score you an increasing number of points. The higher-point questions are meant to be harder of course, so knowing your stuff means you can score 5-point and 7-point questions while other teams get only 2- or 3-pointers. You also have multiple opportunities to score bonus points. At the end of each round, the host plays a song that you must guess the name and artist of for two points, but you have to get the artist right to score either. The songs played are somewhat eclectic from a variety of genres and decades, so lots of people have a chance to guess one. Additionally, if you don’t know the answer to one of the trivia questions, you can write a joke answer and potentially get one point by making the hosts laugh.
My favorite way to score bonus points is one I have never personally done, but love to watch other people do. Occasionally the host puts on a song with well-known lyrics or a big dance break, and invites the participants to come on stage and sing or dance. The first person to run up and perform gets a point for their team. When the invitation is put out, it’s always followed by several seconds of each team goading one or more members into making a spectacle of themselves. Dave & the Busters have successfully convinced the eponymous Dave to sing before, which delighted all.
Foster’s tends to have several sports questions, usually to do with whatever major sporting event is on currently. As someone who is pretty uninterested in sports, they can be frustrating, but luckily several of my teammates are more informed. On Monday we answered several questions about the World Cup, and previously we’ve had to answer questions about the Masters Tournament, March Madness, and of course the Super Bowl. Back in February, the cold chased the competition indoors, so we had the opportunity to watch some of the Winter Olympics on the TVs while answering questions about it. At one point, we were asked about the number of competitors in a certain skiing event, and the teams frantically tried to count as the event happened to come on.
Even when you don’t win, it’s always a lot of fun. On Monday there were fifteen teams competing, some of whom have shown up every month, so it’s definitely a worthwhile way to spend an evening. The next Foster’s trivia will be on July 13th, and I plan to make use of the $50 gift card that Dave & the Busters won. It’s not the focus of this post, but the food at Foster’s is also delicious, especially their wings.
Aside from Foster’s, there are several local opportunities for trivia. The Spot (formerly Steve-O’s) here in Mount Vernon has a trivia night every other Tuesday, and Muddy Jake’s in Sulphur Springs has weekly music trivia on Tuesdays. Don’t think that you have to be some kind of genius to do well, and regardless of winning, it’s still a night of fun. If you were looking for a sign that you should try it out, let this be it.
