Trivia and the wild west

For a little town, with a little school, we do a pretty good fundraiser.

Would you believe $15,000 from a trivia night?

The thing is run like a well oiled machine. A few months before, people start collecting prizes and asking for donations from local and not so local business. A small group writes 80 questions or so, including a 'video clip' round. Others organise decorations, music and entertainment on the night, buy drinks to sell, organise supper and sell tickets.

Everyone else plans their costume. I've never seen so many adults in dress-ups in one place as at the Trivia Night at our local Village Hall. Ours were very dull and standard compared to some. People go all out for it.

The funds come from ticket sales, from drinks on the night, from lucky number draws and from the auctions. This year we had 46 different silent auction packages, made of up vouchers and items and services donated by businesses as diverse as Bowral Bags and the Harbour Bridge Climb. As well as the silent auctions, five or six items go under the hammer for the live auctions. One prize that always goes for several hundred dollars is a day in the company of a local woman who works looking after penguins on Sydney Harbour.  She can't guarantee you'll see penguins up close, but there's a pretty good chance it will happen.

My tiny part in our Trivia night was helping to write the questions and being a judge on the night. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, but we only ended up having one disputation. (Oh, and you have to pay if you really want to challenge an answer. It is a fundraiser after all.)

The $15,000 will be put towards a covered roof for an outdoor play area, so the children have more options on rainy days.