Last updated on Dec. 3, 2025 at 03:51 p.m.
Rose Bowl Tavern’s weekly trivia night drew a lively crowd from the Champaign-Urbana community, blending friendly competition with laughs and connection. The event is hosted almost every Wednesday from 7:30-10 p.m., but most teams arrive by 7:15 p.m. to secure their spot in the competition.
The venue’s announcers were community members Derik Kellner, Evan Alvarez and Mahir Morshed. Each announcer prepared questions for rounds with differently themed topics. The questions from this past week included geography, cinema, “Name the Category” and music. However, these topics vary from week to week.
Wednesday drew an especially large crowd, with all of the tables, bar and even areas near the door being filled. Even though the night was roughly three hours long, the energy remained high, especially for nostalgic pop culture questions and a bit of novelty added at the final round.
The last round of trivia night incorporated live instrumental music and two dancers, as participants were challenged to “Name the Song.” Selections included classics, such as “The Macarena,” “Stayin’ Alive” and “Thriller.”
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“The Rose Bowl lets us do weird stuff, like tonight, or last time it was outside,” Morshed said. “In the last tournament, there was actually a full jazz band.”
This week, temperatures were certainly too cold to enjoy the tavern’s patio. However, the interior of the hangout boasted a cozy and welcoming atmosphere. The tavern boasted an eclectic collection of neon signs and various posters from events, such as past live music shows, around the C-U area, creating a down-to-earth feeling.
Questions are prepared ahead of time and written by the hosts. They have to anticipate what will be popular with an audience by balancing the task of creating challenging and novel questions with a desire to cater to topics people are familiar with.
One strategy the group of hosts has developed is looking for inspiration in their day-to-day lives.
“For me, at least, it’s just kind of like throughout the week,” Kellner said. “If I have a fun idea, I just take little notes and stuff.”
Sometimes the most well-received rounds can be the most unexpected. For instance, Alvarez described the popularity of his round from weeks ago, centering on outer space, of which he himself had little knowledge.
Even after years in the craft, the hosts are always looking for ways to hone their skills and make for even more exciting nights.
“I think I’ve been trying to make things a little less academic, a lot more general,” Morshed said. “I played a lot of quiz competitions in high school, for instance, and was very familiar with that circuit.”
Many of the hosts were drawn in from different backgrounds, and some even competed in trivia night as patrons while other members were already up on stage.
For many of the presenters, taking the microphone started as a one-time opportunity to step into the spotlight, but it quickly turned into a long-standing tradition and meaningful way to share their interests, talents and enthusiasm with the audience. Kellner is no exception.
“I’m into games,” Kellner said. “I also do work for board game companies, so I love presenting a game to people.”
Trivia night has proven itself as an original and unique experience. Interested community members can connect with Rose Bowl via its Instagram for future events.
