It's fun and games at Trivia Night

Photos and story by
CASEY COLLIER
Chez Hope Family Violence Crisis Center will host its 15th Annual St. Mary Trivia Night, March 17, at the Legion on the Bayou, 1330 Irish Bend Road, in Franklin.
Doors will open at 5 p.m., the contest begins at 6 p.m. and there will be door prizes and a live auction, to boot.
The contest will consist of 10 rounds of 10 questions per round to be answered by teams comprised of no more than six players per team, of 18 years or older.
Entry fee is $120 to play. However, spectators are also invited to attend free of charge.
This year’s theme is: Superheroes.
Aside from the $500 cash to be awarded the winners of the competition, awards will be given to the teams with the best costumes and the best dressed table.
In a first, Chez Hope will be partnering with St. Mary Council on Aging, whose volunteers will operate the concession stand at the event. The proceeds of which, go to COA.
Each trivia round is expected to last 10 minutes, with a short break after five rounds for refreshments, door prizes and the live auction.
Chez Hope Community Advocate Tammy Rogers said the organization has received just over $5,000 in sponsorship donations so far, with more expected.
According to Rogers, the event raised $9,000 in 2016 and $12,000 last year; and if she has her way, the trend will continue this year with a target of $15,000 brought in from what is consistently Chez Hope’s biggest yearly fundraiser.
“I like those three thousand dollar increments,” Rogers said of her goal.
As for her target concerning participating teams, Rogers said she would like to see 30 teams signed up to play in the contest.
The panel of judges will consist of four, whom Rogers said were notoriously difficult to wrangle this year, as opposed to years past.
She attributes that difficulty to scheduling conflicts with previous years’ judges.
“You know,” Rogers said of new participation, “it is a fundraiser so of course bringing in the money is a big part of it, but we have made so many new contacts and new friends after they’ve played trivia and gotten to know us. So, people who may not have had too good an idea of what Chez Hope was all about—now will get a better idea of who we are.”
Not to lose sight of the reason for the affair, Rogers said, “Our work here is very important for domestic violence survivors, who we call survivors because once they come here, they’ve taken that first step toward getting out of the situation.
“It (trivia night) benefits them in the long run, because we’ll have more support. So, it is a social event in that we have a good time and it is a lot of fun, but it’s more for awareness.”
Anyone interested in participating in or donating to the trivia night fundraiser, can call Chez Hope at 337-828-4200.