About 100 people turned out for the Twin City Days Trivia Night, held Thursday night (Sept. 6) at Festus Intermediate School, which kicked off the three-day festival.
The trivia night, organized by Leader Publications, had 15 teams competing for prizes, which was better participation than in recent years.
For the first time, the trivia night was also a fundraiser, benefitting the Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children of Jefferson County (CASA), which received about $1,500 from entry fees and proceeds from a 50-50 drawing, a silent auction for baskets and a heads-or-tails game.
CASA provides one-on-one court advocacy for abused, neglected or abandoned children who are part of the foster care system.
The Festus High School Band Boosters also benefitted, by operating a concession stand, selling a wide variety of drinks and candy. It turned out that bottled water was the most popular item, with the stand selling all of them.
Players answered questions about current events, movies, music, sports and birds.
The top three tables won cash prizes.
The winning team, which answered 92 out of 100 questions correctly, included Glenn Fisher, Allison Richardson, Becky Schulte, Susan West, Jim Schulte, Andy Stauss, Patrick Schulte and Bruce West.
The runners-up, who got 86 questions correct, were Josh Kennon, Dave Schmidt, Ellie King, Bill Rouggly, Claudia Rouggly and Ilda Kennon.
The third-place team, which had 77 correct answers, represented CASA and included Martienne Cotter, Jamie Ruder, Ashley Ruder, Melanie Brady, Kaitie Otto, Christina Bier and Paul Bier.
Leader Publications is also organizing a trivia night for Arnold Days. The second annual event will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 13) at the Arnold Recreation Center, 1695 Missouri State Road.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
Admission is $10 per player and includes popcorn and pretzels. Soda and water will be available for purchase. Outside food and adult beverages are welcome but no tobacco products are allowed.
Teams of up to eight players will compete for cash prizes. Individual players are also welcome; they will be assigned to a team.
Pre-registration is encouraged. To sign up, call the Leader at 636-931-7560; drop by the newspaper office at 503 N. Second St. in Festus; or email nvrweakly@aol.com.