ST. LOUIS – Trivia fundraisers have taken their place along other quintessential St. Louis things, like toasted ravioli, the Arch, and ‘what high school did you go to?’
“You are in the midst of trivia season in St. Louis.”
Dan Dillon of Dillon Trivia would know. Dillon will write questions and host 35 to 40 trivia contests this year, usually for schools, churches and other non-profits. Last Saturday, he hosted a trivia fundraiser at a Webster Groves church for the League of Women Voters.
“This is 5th one I’ve done for the League of Women Voters so they trust me, they know they can trust that I’ve done enough research,” said Dillon.
Dillon said trivia season mirrors the school year, busy in autumn until Christmas, then during the winter months after New Year's and the Super Bowl.
“I’m busy almost every weekend until the end of May,” said Dillon. “A lot of schools and organizations found that it’s an easy way to make money. Trivia is a great night of entertainment. It’s cheap. It’s a turnkey way for schools and not for profits to get some people together and have fun and have a little contest.”
There’s even a website devoted to St. Louis trivia which listed 28 trivia events last weekend, and has already posted 60 trivia fundraisers for the month of March.
“I wish I could tell you why it’s a St. Louis phenomenon. I do not know, but I’m sure glad it is because it keeps me busy,” said Dillon. “There are dozens of people like me in the St. Louis area.”
Dillon said there's a key to keep trivia contestants coming back. It starts with quality questions.
“A mixture of difficult and easy questions because you don’t want people leaving the trivia night saying ‘well, that was a waste of my time. I didn’t know anything.’ You want everybody here to at least know 3 or 4 answers per round so they feel like they’re contributing and not dummies,” said Dillon.
With hundreds of trivia events annually all over the St. Louis region, Dillon said there is only one conclusion.
“It’s become a St. Louis thing,” he said.
