by Kirby Lindsay, posted 29 August 2012
For those who enjoy trivia, or quiz games, now is the time to sign up your four person team for Quiz Night For Day, on September 11th, at 7p, at Pecado Bueno. The last Quiz Night, held in January, sold out in advance, so teams are encouraged to sign-up this time around as soon as possible.
Of course, those who want to watch, enjoy delicious tacos or a yummy margarita, and support B.F. Day Elementary School programs can simply drop in all evening long!
An Idea That Could Not Be Shaken
As a new parent at B.F. Day, Carol Magallanes attended a few PTSA meetings last year – and found an inspiration to start Quiz Night For Day. “I got the idea in my head that I needed to do a trivia night fundraiser,” she said, “It was an idea that I couldn’t shake. It kept me up at night.”
Magallanes has lived in Fremont since 2004, first in an apartment and now in a house in Upper Fremont with her husband and their two young daughters. “It’s so great,” Magallanes explained, “to wake up in the morning and smell [Lighthouse Roasters] coffee brewing.” Her family has benefitted from many of the advantages and the walkability of our community.
When their eldest started at the neighborhood school, Magallanes decided, “I wanted to be an involved parent.” She joined the PTSA and heard about budget shortfalls, “and I learned about the tough decisions,” that must be made to cut programs and staff. The B.F. Day PTSA works hard to raise money, but some programs and staff still get cut.
“I’d never done anything like this before,” she said about creating a fundraiser for the school. “I had gone to pub trivia night fundraisers,” she explained, and she has attended the weekly trivia night at Molly Maguire’s (on N 65th St.)
“My oldest daughter and I were out,” she recalled, “and we went in to check out Pecado Bueno…” Inside, they met owner James Schmidt and, according to Magallanes, she told him, “I want to host a fundraiser here.” She said he responded with help and generosity – including an offer of $500 in food and 18 tables for teams to sit at – all for the first Quiz Night For Day held back on January 31, 2012.
A Night Of Trivia To Stir Awareness
“I love trivia,” Magallanes admitted, and “I knew that it can be done as a fundraiser.” A significant difference between Quiz Night and a regular pub trivia night, she observed, is the price. Regular trivia contests can be free or cost participants as little as $5 per person, with the host location recouping its costs through liquor and/or food sales. Quiz Night cost participants $25 per person, but each registered team member is entitled to food – and great karma earned by giving money to better educate our children.
The Pecado Bueno doors open for the September Quiz Night at 6p, to allow teams to get some food and pick their table. The Quiz will officially start at 7p, with four rounds of ten questions plus a picture round, all administered by legendary Seattle Trivia Master Mac McLain, currently working at The Gerald in Ballard. “I’m too close to the participants,” admitted Magallanes, when asked why she doesn’t run the quiz herself, “I’d stress out too much.”
An Invitation To Tacos, Tequila & Trivia
Magallanes hopes the event will draw the young and single – “this reaches beyond the school community,” Magallanes said, “to approach people who aren’t necessarily elementary school parents.”
She promised, “It’s going to be a great party!” She doesn’t expect PTSA members, or other parents, to attend although she knows some will and she welcomes their support. Yet, “I wanted it to require minimal effort on behalf of the PTSA,” Magallanes said, “I’m doing this on my own.”
School families already give, particularly as each is asked for a contribution at the start of the school year. Magallanes wants, with Quiz Night For Day, to reach out to funding sources for our school out in our community, in a fun, entertaining way.
Also, “I wanted to build a stronger sense of community among the neighborhood,” she admitted. “I love the revitalization that’s happened here,” Magallanes observed about Upper Fremont, “I love what’s going on here.” Hopefully, Quiz Night For Day can bring more attention to the great restaurants and shopping that has come to the neighborhood.
For the event, Magallanes approached neighborhood businesses – and they responded with generously donated prizes and gifts for participants. While she hasn’t approached them all, nearly everyone she’s talked to has shown a real willingness to give – such as Uneeda Burger, Dot’s Delicatessen, Hunger, Via Tribunali, and Caffe Vita.
Those who can’t make the next Quiz Night for Day, on September 11th, or don’t get registered in time, Magallanes does expect to return. “I want to make it at least one per year,” she said, “after the first one, there was such a huge response, that I’m doing the one in September by popular demand.”
Show your support – round up a team and register today! Check out Quiz Night For Day on Facebook. Or, show up the night of, buy a taco and place a few dollars in the hat…all in support of our school!
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©2012 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.