On Friday, trivia masters gathered in Woodland Park for Portage Township YMCA’s Total Knockout Trivia Night. The event is quickly becoming a community favorite, featuring costumes, tacos, drinks, and a lively trivia contest.
This time around, the event was bigger and better than ever as it moved into the spacious Oakwood Hall in Woodland Park. 200 attendees made up 21 teams that came together to test their knowledge, socialize, and compete for the prized beer towers. Shannon Burhans, Portage Township YMCA’s CEO, discussed the role events like the trivia night play in the community.
“I think what makes all of our events stand out is that they include the entire community,” Burhans said. “Our mission is to create healthy minds, bodies, and spirits for all. The key with that is to make sure that everyone is included, and events like this raise the funds to do that.”
Funds raised at this event support a scholarship that allows lower income individuals and families to take part in YMCA programming. Last year they distributed about $39,000 in scholarships for family programming. Total Knockout Trivia Night was the kick-off for their fundraising and a fun competition for a good cause.
Many participants went all out with their costumes, from stereotypical tourists in beach shirts to the Emerald City All-Stars, a fully costumed team of iconic “Wizard of Oz” characters. Carrie Williams, dressed as the Wicked Witch, loved the event and the chance to dress-up.
“We, as a group, love trivia and when we found out costumes were allowed we were totally in,” Williams said. “The Y gives so much back to the community, so any way that they can do fundraisers to raise that little extra money is not only good the community as a whole, but a lot of fun to be here as well.”
Drew Mitchell, of Holladay Properties emceed the event, drilling Region residents on their knowledge of all kinds of categories. From exciting prizes to a new, public venue, the YMCA team looked to make everyone feel welcome to join in the fun.
“The new venue kind of takes the pressure off,” said Andrea Starling, Chair of the Board of Directors. “We wanted to make it bigger and better this year because it’s a fun night that brings the community together and makes us more visible.”
To learn more about the Portage Township YMCA, visit www.ymcaofportage.org.