For several years, the town of Boone has been a hotspot for trivia nights. With restaurants all over Rivers and King streets hosting weekly trivia nights, there is not a dull moment for those who wish to enjoy a meal while also testing their knowledge.

One particular restaurant, Rivers Street Ale House, has been hosting weekly trivia nights for several years, but recently they have been looking for some new trivia players. Last year they filled up nearly every week with newcomers and regulars hoping to win the trivia rounds.

With a limit of four tables participating, Rivers Street Ale House has been struggling to put on their trivia nights due to lack of promotion.

Rivers Street Ale House hosts their weekly trivia on Tuesday nights starting at 9 p.m. The rounds are difficult but fast-paced, providing a challenge to more adept trivia players. Some nights they also host specials, like a buy one, get one free pizza or $3 pints.

There are five rounds per game, with each round getting progressively harder. Most of the themes revolve around NFL, college basketball or any other sports, considering Rivers Street Ale House is a sports bar.

The winner of each round gets a free pint or players under 21 receive signature cups or t-shirts. The winner of the whole trivia match receives a $20 gift card to use on their meal or save for their next visit.

Taylor Bussey, one of the leaders of the trivia match, said, “Usually, the people who come in to play trivia are regulars, but we have a lot of the college students come to play as well. We usually focus on sports themes, but we also do some more fun themes like horror movies or Harry Potter. We are looking to promote the trivia nights more because they’re really enjoyable nights that we hope to put on more often than we do.”

Lost Province Brewing Company, located on North Depot Street, also hosts a weekly trivia every Wednesday at 7 p.m. The restaurant, usually busy on Wednesday nights, has staff pass around score sheets to every table, and guests can view the questions on a large projection screen with multiple-choice answers provided.

Lost Province offers its  trivia to anyone, from Boone regulars to trivia newcomers. One trivia player, Lorenzo Rivera, said he had never been to a public trivia event before.

“I’ve always enjoyed playing trivia with my friends and family,” Rivera said. “The rounds were challenging and even though my team, Rum Ham, came in dead last, my friends and I still had a great night, and we’ll be coming back sometime soon.”

Galileo’s, located on King Street, is one of the most popular spots in Boone for trivia. With two weekly trivia nights, Galileo’s fills up their restaurant with trivia lovers.

Wednesday night trivia starts at 7:30 p.m. and features more generic trivia, with five categories per night and the rounds growing progressively more difficult. Most of the categories are usually random, with some popular themes such as sports or pop culture.

Thursday’s specialty trivia nights are more popular. The most recent specialty trivia night was Disney themed. The players answered questions about movies, characters, soundtracks and actors all from popular or lesser-known Disney movies. Some more upcoming themes for Thursday trivia at Galileo’s are “Friends,” football and Marvel trivia.

Though the trivia nights begin at 7:30 p.m., it is encouraged for players to come much earlier as the seats already start filling in around 6 p.m. Galileo’s gets so packed on trivia nights that wristbands are used to mark who is playing, and some players even have to stand to participate. The winner of the overall match gets a gift card for the restaurant.

Mark Dixon has been in charge of running the trivia nights for nine years.

“Over the years, my favorite part of trivia is to see different groups of people interacting with each other,” Dixon said. “Some of the players really get competitive, and the overall energy of the entire restaurant is energetic because of it. It has always been fun to watch friends come together to figure out the answer, and everyone gets excited when they get the question right. It’s a great night for everyone, even the workers.”

Story by: Amber Grant, A&E Reporter

Featured Cartoon by: Jarrett Carlson, Cartoonist

Photo by: Halle Keighton, Photo Editor