Professional trivia hosting New York City

This evening, we return to The Bell House in Gowanus, Brooklyn to produce the 2nd-Annual Science Friday Trivia Night! With a focus this year on “dangerous science,” host Ira Flatow will be quizzing a massive crowd of science lovers on all things perilous – and just like last year, it’s going to be awesome!

You may be reading this and wondering: why is a company specializing in NYC corporate event entertainment activities and trivia parties for the office producing public quiz nights in Brooklyn, anyway? And not just any kind of contest, mind you, but a science one at that?

Good question!

I thought I’d provide a little background on how this special event came about. I founded TrivWorks seven years ago as a niche form of event entertainment, with an exclusive focus on corporate audiences: employees, clients, loyal brand enthusiasts, potential new customers. Things were going along swimmingly, however in 2011 some new developments came up which made things REALLY start to get interesting!

In January of that year, we announced a special partnership with Pat Kiernan, the longtime NY1 morning news anchor. Pat is perhaps the most recognizable (and most beloved) local newsman here in the Big Apple. A morning TV fixture for nearly two decades, he has built a massive and devoted following of fans who adore him: his dry Canadian wit, charming banter with fellow on-air personalities and, perhaps most importantly, his daily “In the Papers” segment, where he reads the headlines of the day to his audience.

While our partnership was geared towards providing NYC group bonding activities for companies, we recognized that this meant there were bound to be fans of Pat who wouldn’t be able to enjoy his unique trivia hosting experience. An so, we reached out to The Bell House (where I was hosting a monthly trivia night in the front bar area) with what was then a wacky idea: what if we created the biggest PUBLIC trivia night anybody had ever seen, complete with a hip professional venue, amazing prizes, killer questions, and a celebrity host?

That event came together almost five years ago exactly, in June of 2011. Held in partnership with VH1 Save The Music Foundation as a fund raiser, we quickly sold Bell House out, and produced what in my mind was the perfect trivia event: packed to the gills, raucous and laugh-filled from start to finish, exciting, engaging, full of energy, and just an absolute blast. Based on the tremendous response, we then launched an entire series of Bell House trivia nights, partnering not only with Pat to produce pop culture-themed events, but with Gothamist to produce a New York-centric event. Before long, BH had clearly become our city’s premier venue for live trivia entertainment.

One day in the fall of 2014, my phone rang. It was the programming department of Science Friday, the adored weekly public radio program created and hosted by Ira Flatow, and they had a question. They had heard about our trivia night series, and wondered: could this work for their audience, albeit with a science theme? I was thrilled, because I knew in my heart the answer: yes! I was invited to meet with the SciFri team, where we put together plans to produce their first-ever trivia night last spring. By every measure, it was a resounding success: packed house, enthralled and passionate crowd of science lovers, phenomenal theme-appropriate prizes, and even costumes! The SciFri team came up with the most amazing science trivia questions I’d ever seen, and Ira was, of course, a complete natural in his new role as “quizmaster.”

And that brings us to where we are today! The 2^nd annual event has once again been a blast to help put together, and I am beyond thrilled to be a part of what has become a much-anticipated event in the NYC science lovers’ community. Granted, this isn’t really my area – though I somehow scored a 4 on my biology AP exam, I’m definitely more comfortable in the world of pop culture. But what makes these evens special to me is simply seeing the energy that’s captured in the room, when a rapt audience of zealous fans of ANY subject are thrown together, surrounded by smiles and laughs, booze is flowing, music is rocking, and everyone – EVERYONE – is just having the time of their lives!

I’m looking forward to what will surely be another incredibly fun and memorable evening in Brooklyn, and to enjoying what’s easily the most fun science-themed event being held on a Wednesday anywhere in this town. Alas, I am also aware that SciFri has many, many passionate listeners all over the country and world, who would also love to be able to do something like this. Will there be the potential to explore bringing this to other cities in the future? Quite possibly! SciFri produces a number of fantastic events all over the place throughout the year, and TrivWorks shall be opening an office in Southern California this summer – so, who knows? I’d suggest keeping an eye on things by following our respective brands on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc., as well as signing up for SciFri’s newsletter.

In the meantime, tonight’s event (like everything Science Friday and TrivWorks do) will be heavily represented via our respective social channels. We won’t be live streaming the entire thing, however there will definitely be some pre-event broadcasts via Facebook Live and Periscope, as well as constant updates throughout the evening via our feeds and those of the participants in the audience. Follow along if you’re not able to join us, and let us know what you think!

For everyone else who IS planning to attend, follow this link for a useful FAQ about how the night will flow! If nothing else, I can absolutely guarantee it’s going to be another uproarious, hilarious and competitive night of team trivia in the Borough of Kings, and we looking forward to seeing you there!