While local restaurants and bars are closing amidst the COVID-19 health crisis, businesses are getting creative to bring some fun to people who are stuck inside their homes.
On Saturday night, Major League Trivia will be hosting a virtual trivia broadcast on Facebook at 8 p.m., allowing usual trivia patrons to continue having fun with some games in the comfort of their own homes.
Hosted and created by Howie Kunzinger, who hosts trivia at several Huntington and Northport bars, said that he came up with the idea when people started to reach out saying they were disappointed they couldn’t go out during the lockdown.
“For a lot of these people, this is their one night out, and I’ve gotten a ton of messages from people saying lacking trivia was the toughest part of this whole thing,” he said. “I’m just trying to find a way to help entertain… With everyone cooped up at home these days, I’m just trying to bring a little bit of normality back, and help the businesses that host me on a weekly basis by trying to drum up some take out traffic for them.”
Usually when he hosts trivia at places like Brews Brothers in Huntington or Napper Tandys in Northport, the winning prize is a gift card to the restaurant in the end. This time, Kunzinger said that there would be a winning cash prize, made up of the $5 per person donation that is sent in at the beginning of the game.
The event will then be live streamed on Facebook and consist of a six-category game, for two hours, with 10 questions per category. Each team will have two minutes to email Kunzinger their answers in real time for points.
To participate, a team member would send Kunzinger $5 per person via Venmo, with their names in the note. That money will go into the winning prize, which will be determined upon how many people participate at the start of the game. “I’ve already gotten teams signed up from six states, Canada and Iceland,” he said. “So it’s beyond my usual crowd at this point.”
Once the game starts, it’s typical trivia just as you would play at your favorite bar. “We play like any other trivia night,” he said. “They’ll have the ability to heckle and interact with each other while maintaining social distance.”
To fully feel like it’s a trivia night, Kunzinger suggest ordering take-out from a local restaurant while playing.
For more information on the event, or to sign up, visit the Major League Trivia Facebook page.
Photos/Howie Kunzinger