Trivia night host NYC

Today we’ve reached a milestone, one which completely blows my mind: on this day five years ago, we held the very first Pat Kiernan trivia night at The Bell House in Brooklyn.

Five years. Wow. If you had asked me back then whether we’d still be doing this in five years, I would have likely said, “only if we’re lucky.” And I am proud to say, we have been EXTREMELY lucky!

I’ve written extensively on this blog about my very special collaboration with Pat Kiernan – the beloved longtime NY1 morning news anchor and game show host – and how our mega trivia night series at Bell House came to be (follow this link – it’s a really cool story!). But I thought on this notable anniversary, it might be fun to take a trip down memory lane, and relive some of the great moments we’ve shared together down by the Gowanus Canal:

VH1 Save The Music Foundation Trivia Fund Raiser (2011) – This was the start of it all, the big event which kicked off what has become the largest trivia night series in all of New York City. Fresh off of announcing an alliance to deliver corporate entertainment and group bonding activities in NYC using live trivia, Pat and I thought it would be a good idea to give it a “test run” of sorts in the relatively lower-stakes environment of an informal trivia benefit, for an excellent cause. VH1 Save The Music Foundation was the perfect partner, in that Pat had a history with the network hosting The World Series of Pop Culture for two seasons, and my wife is a public school music teacher. We had no idea what would happen, but it blew even our loftiest expectations away: the event completely sold out, kids from P.S. 58 opened the show with several performances, the audience was raucous from beginning to end, and it was just an awesome, laugh-filled night!

Why We Love NYC: Ultimate New York Pop Culture Trivia Nights (2012) – We announced this event, and within I think a week or two we had to add another date because it had completely sold out at 300 ticket buyers (The Bell House told me there were people calling up, and actually begging for tickets to be released). That second date? It sold out, too – we had definitely tapped into something here! I think it was the obvious convergence of Pat’s professional and personal brands: New York, pop culture, trivia, sharp-witted humor. People just really responded to it, and the result was two insanely high-energy, hilarious events. We had a surprise appearance by comedian Eliot Glazer, whose “Sh*t New Yorkers Say” video had just gone viral the week prior – Pat then treated the audience to the debut of his own video, “Sh*t Pat Kiernan Says.” The second show, we welcomed some more surprise guests: Pat’s NY1 colleagues Roger Clark & Jamie Stelter, who treated the crowd to some NYC trivia. It was an absolute blast!

90s Trivia Nights (2012) – We immediately followed up on the momentum of our Big Apple-themed events by looking at our 20s/30s crowd, and selecting a theme which we thought would resonate well: 90s pop culture. Boy, were we right about that – once again, sold out immediately; again, second date added, which also sold out. We partnered with Nickelodeon to give us some fantastic prizes including Gak and Floam, and also welcomed back Roger Clark to have a 90s trivia showdown with Pat himself. At one of the shows, we also opened the event up to an ultimate 90s dance-off, pitting two teams against each other in performances of the “Macarena” and the “Electric Slide!”

15 Minutes of Fame (2012) – We were getting some serious media attention by this time, and were fortunate enough to partner with Gothamist to run an online poll to determine the next trivia night theme. The winner: “15 Minutes of Fame,” where we asked about pop culture’s greatest 1-hit wonders and flashes in the pan. Pat had just moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn that summer, and to welcome him properly, we had one of the most memorable moments we’ve ever had with a surprise appearance by then-Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz! In addition to asking Pat some trivia, he proclaimed it “Pat Kiernan Day.” It was phenomenal!

Hurricane Sandy Relief Benefit (2012) – We had scheduled a Halloween-themed trivia night at The Bell House at the end of October, and even partnered with mental_floss magazine – however, Hurricane Sandy had other plans. In addition to decimating the coastal regions, it flooded The Bell House and forced us to cancel our gig. Pat and I huddled, and quickly decided that the rescheduled date should be a trivia fund raiser to help those affected by the storm. We announced the event – including that all ticket revenue would go towards relief efforts – and not only sold out instantly, but received a massive amount of local, and even NATIONAL press. Wow!

Here’s how you can spend an evening with @patkiernan and support #Sandy victims http://t.co/oCJQdNfP cc @trivworks

— HuffPost Media (@HuffPostMedia) November 13, 2012

Highline Ballroom (2012 & 2013) – By this point, we had heard from enough Manhattanites that it was too far of a schlep to Brooklyn, and that it was their turn. In response, we produced a couple of events at the gorgeous Highline Ballroom in Chelsea, including another NYC-themed event and a “New Year’s Resolutions”-themed gig. Special moments at these events included a surprise appearance by then-Manhattan Brooklyn president (now Comptroller) Scott Stringer, as well as a “have Pat join your team for a round of trivia” hosted by – well, me.

90s vs. 00’s (2013) – After our Highline Ballroom run, we came back to The Bell House with a new theme, and a new twist. We pitted 90s kids vs. 2000s kids, asking trivia from BOTH decades at each round, and having teams choose which decade they wanted to answer questions about. It was a bit more confusing that we thought it would be, so we abandoned that format – but it was still an awesome, sold-out event, and everyone there had a blast!

Pat’s Summer Slam (2013) – The ultimate summer-themed pop culture trivia night! We had so much fun at this gig, but by far the most incredible thing was Pat officiating a Stand By Me-style pie eating contest. Epic – just epic.

Pat’s Holiday Trivia Party (2013) – Scheduled for the start of holiday season, we put on what I think was one of the most fun and quirky themes we’d ever done, asking about ALL of the holidays and their famous roles in pop culture. It was a blast to write and a blast to run; Pat event had a costume change mid-way, to put on his appropriately-festive ugly sweater. We even had a Christmas tree with a stocking labeled “Pat” onstage for good measure!

Pat Kiernan’s Trivia Food Fight (2014) – Probably one of the most enthusiastically-received events in a series of enthusiastic events, this event drew an entirely new crowd with the promise of all food-centric pop culture trivia, as well as theme-appropriate prizes! This event also featured what is easily my favorite “prize wheel” we have onstage, with categories such as “Steak,” “Cookies,” “BBQ,” “Pork” and “Pie” all up for grabs. We also re-did the epic pie eating contest, because it was such a hit the last time (and was once again this time!).

Pat Kiernan’s Polar Cortex (2014) – Designed as the opposite of our “Summer Slam” the previous year, we went for all the winter-themed pop culture we could muster. It was at this event that perhaps my favorite moment in all the years doing this took place: we revealed a full-size air hockey table onstage (complete with live video feed of the table projected onto the big screen), and had Roger Clark  challenge Pat to a game while A) everyone in the audience went nuts, B) “Welcome to the Jungle” blasted from the speakers, and C) NY1 political reporter Josh Robin officiated. It was just the greatest moment, and one which I still think back fondly to quite often!

So fun playing Air Hockey with @PatKiernan last night @TrivWorks #PatsTrivia @BellHouseNY – @JoshRobin on the mic pic.twitter.com/tI5t9mXRYz

— Roger Clark (@RogerClark41) December 3, 2014

Red Carpet Trivia Nights (2014, 2015 & 2016) – This theme, which we’ve repeated three times, lends itself perfectly to timely pop culture trivia. Scheduled in the late winter, right at the heart of “awards season,” we turned The Bell House into the spectacle most of us only see on TV, complete with a tuxedoed Pat, at real red carpet, and even hired “paparazzi” to snap attendees’ photos when they arrive! Each winner of our 1-on-1 “mini games” takes home a customized statuette, and even gives an “acceptance speech.” Surprises at these events have included having a Kanye impersonator crashing the stage, a John Travolta impersonator to re-create the “Adele Dazeem” moment…and even Pat Kiernan singing, dressed as Lin-Manuel Miranda in Hamilton!

.@patkiernan channels @Lin_Manuel & @HamiltonMusical to kick off trivia night @BellHouseNY!#PatsTrivia pic.twitter.com/yvJodQnxDV

— TrivWorks (@TrivWorks) March 3, 2016

Pat in the Hat (2015) – Again attempting to reach new audiences with a new theme, we chose books. This event was so much fun to write, and we got do to a few things which we don’t usually do, such as a “book cover ID round” where we projected 15 famous book covers (minus title/author) onto the big screen for teams to ponder over. We also perfected the use of Pat’s “isolation” format for the trivia showdown, to determine the overall winner.

Phew! Amazing! Each and every one of these events was an absolute blast to produce – a TON of work, don’t get me wrong, but so worth it. We have since also had the pleasure of producing mega trivia nights at Bell House in partnership with Gothamist, Science Friday and more. For those who have joined us at these special trivia nights, you know how much fun they are, and that they are without a doubt the largest trivia nights in New York City. It’s been such an incredible honor to work with Pat and our host venues, and of course to have all of you join us for uniquely memorable moments!

More to come! In the meantime, visit www.TrivWorks.com/Employee-Team-Building to learn about having Pat emcee a trivia party for your office!