The Bristol Community Association (BCA) hosted its first trivia night Saturday at the Jack Graham Community Centre in support of rebuilding the outdoor rink in Norway Bay.
Trivia evenings are not foreign to communities in the area, and one can look to nearby Astra Estates where a similar event was hosted by the Norway Bay Municipal Association just last year. What was special about this event, however, is that it was compellingly community-oriented and driven by civic membership with the common good clearly at the fore. While competition was still in the air, it was playful from the first question right through to the podium finishes of first through third.
“We were aiming for a full house and we got it,” said BCA president Anne McConnell, overjoyed with the evening.
“We are working on having the rink available year-round,” said McConnell. “It’s used for ball hockey and even a skateboard run for Duke the bulldog in the summer but we would like to have it available for pickleball courts. The plan is to fix the supports and outside of the rink and have the surface levelled out for the courts.”
Scott Mills was trivia master, and he brought with him an understated and good-natured demeanour synchronous with the gathered.
“Scoring is on the honour system,” he offered, setting the tone of goodwill and fellowship that was to follow. Mills, with strong ties to the Bristol community, is a veteran host with Outside the Box Trivia, leading regular pub nights across the Ottawa area.
Fourteen teams had white answer boards at the ready, pitting the likes of Les Quizerables against the Bristol Misfits. Through eight rounds of trivia, Mills led teams with questions on themes ranging from geography to music, and from popular culture to the kitchen.
With a best possible score of 60, the winning score of 50 from The Free Radicals team took top prize, which they in turn handed back to the BCA in support of the evening.
“Our Norway Bay rink is treasured and we appreciate having the opportunity to help out through this fundraising event,” said Deb Powell, member of the winning team.
Volunteers Kevin Clement, who is also the rink attendant, along with Chantal Labrie took care of ensuring that everyone was well fed and that the “bring your appetite” part of the invitation was met with equal billing. Together, they provided a hearty selection of stews with an ample sideboard and when combined with the cash bar, attendees were satiated to their will.
The only bragging rights available for the evening were for who had the most fun, and, in this, it was a tie across the board with only one final trivia question remaining: when is the next BCA event because there is already a queue.
