April 21, 2013 By Christian Murray
Sunnyside is going ‘trivia’ mad.
Several bars in the neighborhood are hosting ‘trivia’ nights and the number of establishments that are putting them on appears to keep growing.
About two years ago, Bar 43 and Molly Blooms were the go-to places for trivia enthusiasts. However, in recent months, Maggie Mae’s and Bliss Street Station have joined in too. In addition, the Copper Kettle and the Dog & Duck host it from time-to-time for fundraising purposes.
Tonight, April 21, the best teams from many of these bars are turning up at the Dog & Duck in the “battle of the bars” to duke it out for top billing in the name of charity. This will be the second “battle of the bars” event, with the team from Bar 43 winning it last year—when it was held as a fundraiser for Hurricane Sandy victims.
This year, the event is being held to benefit the Friends of Karen charity, which helps cover the expenses for families that have a child with cancer.
The rules of “battle of the bars” will be similar to those adopted by most Sunnyside bars, where attendees split into teams and then answer several rounds of questions for a series of prizes.
Ty Sullivan, the popular Bar 43 trivia master who is co-hosting tonight’s event, said at Bar 43 there are typically 16 to 18 teams comprised of four or five people per team. He said there are six rounds of questions, comprised of 10 questions per round. At the end of each round, each team submits its answers on a sheet of paper and he grades them.
“The team that wins a round might get free shots or a spot prize,” Sullivan said, referring to Bar 43’s Tuesday night event. “Sometimes we will give free shots to the team that constantly loses—to make it fun. It’s not just for champions.”
Meanwhile, Terry Clarke, the popular trivia master at Molly Blooms who is the other co-host of battle of the bars, has been running that pub’s event on Monday nights for about two years.
At least 10 teams are expected at tonight’s “battle of the bars” event. Each team will be paying $20 per table, which will go to the Friends of Karen charity.
The event kicks off at 8:30 pm.
