What do a student, a professor, a mayor, a nurse, and a hotel guest all have in common? Each can be found at the weekly trivia night hosted by the Colgate Inn in the village of Hamilton.
The free event, held Wednesday evenings, consistently draws a diverse crowd of more than 100 people.
Doug Chiarello ’98, regional advancement director at Colgate University and known to many as the “trivia guy,” founded the event two years ago.
Chiarello credits the success of trivia night, which he adapted from a similar pub trivia event he attended with alumni in Boston, to the tight-knit Hamilton community and the university’s affinity for trivia games.
 |
| Team members work on an answer during a recent trivia night event at the Colgate Inn. (Photo by Jason Kammerdiener) |
“Two Colgate alumni [Ed Werner ’71 and John Haney ’70] had a role in creating the Trivial Pursuit game,” he explained. “Trivia is a part of the Colgate fabric.”
Peter Younglove, director of operations at the inn, said the crowd at the first trivia night was nearly too large for the venue at the time, yet “that was the quietest night we’ve ever had!”
Moving to a larger room has allowed the event to grow — though it consistently nears the room’s capacity. Any size team may participate, but only teams of six or fewer may win the top three prizes donated by the inn.
The questions compiled each week by Chiarello run the gamut, from comic books to local history, so it pays to have a team with a wide knowledge base.
Village Mayor Sue McVaugh plays weekly on a team that includes a former mayor, two Colgate faculty members, a nurse, and a librarian. Students regularly join forces with professors.
At the most recent trivia night, Colgate interim president Lyle Roelofs and his wife, Laurie, moved from table to table, mingling with participants.
“There is a communal feel to it,” says Chiarello.
Opinions vary about why trivia has such a wide appeal.
Allison Bush ’09 explains that she and her friends “come for the fun and the change of scenery,” while Professor David McCabe believes that trivia pulls people in because “being bad at it is not obvious. When you get a question wrong, another one is coming, but when you get one right, you feel great.”
Almost universally, however, participants stress the event’s camaraderie.
That camaraderie extends beyond the inn’s borders. The winning team of the annual March Madness tournament, the only trivia event that has an entry charge, chooses a local charity to which the registration money is donated. During other nights, contributions for local charities also are collected.
For Chiarello, such generosity is gratifying to see. “Uniting all members of the community: that’s one of the main reasons I created trivia night and enjoy running it.”