The 34th annual Trivia Weekend presented by KVSC 88.1FM takes place Feb. 8-10. Each year, a different theme is chosen to pay homage to a popular movie, novel or pop-culture phenomena. “Trivia 2013: A Space Oddity” was chosen to expand Trivia Weekend into intergalactic space.

“I think the theme is a very good one—we are purposefully exploring the space, galactic, scientific side of this theme versus solely the Sci-Fi theme, which we have touched on with other themes in the past,” said Jo McMullen-Boyer, Station Manager of KVSC 88.1 FM.

“I’ve already learned of teams that have deep connections to the theme and perhaps, an advantage. One team is comprised of Ph.D. students at Cornell University in the Space and Science department. Another team has connections to NASA and one team has a lot of physics majors involved.”

Each year, the on-campus radio station at St. Cloud State University hosts a 50-hour marathon of trivia questions asked to teams listening on the radio and Internet. With a broad range of questions in pop culture, science, history and more, KVSC’s Trivia Weekend is a staple in Central Minnesota.

“This year we don’t have many surprises for teams and we’re aiming to produce a contest that is competitive and engaging. The audio and visual trivia will most likely play with the outer space theme. For volunteers, we’re working hard to get the best food Central Minnesota has to offer and a fun time connecting with trivia teams via the telephone hotlines.”

The rich history of KVSC’s Trivia Weekend began in 1980 as an event put on by KVSC and the SCSU Residence Hall Association as a way to alleviate Minnesota’s cabin fever. That year, a staff of 14 answered calls on four phone lines from 50 teams.

In 2012, KVSC required hundreds of volunteers to staff the 32 trivia hotlines and 67 teams participated in the three-day contest. With the growth of Trivia Weekend volunteers have become very important in making the event possible.

“There are typically 40 volunteers an hour required to run the contest, between on air hosts, telephone bank, question writers, score keepers, food runners, production staff, in-house band, etc. Also, our friends at UTVS run a 10 to15-member crew per hour. It’s really hard to head count, but we believe 200 different volunteers is a number we’re confident with.

Trivia rules require teams to register by 4:30 p.m. the Friday of Trivia Weekend. Teams create a name and designate a headquarters to work from as they put their heads together in a quest to be called the most knowledgeable team.

“One team lists members in Dublin, Ireland (Enjoy the Man Explosion!), another lists Norway (Neo-Max Zoomdweebies) and another in Kuwait City (ET: Searching for your Zero-G Spot). In the past, some teams have active duty military members in the Middle East on their teams as well.”

Concluding the 50-hour contest is an awards ceremony in Ritsche Auditorium at SCSU. The winning team receives the coveted Minnesota Masters of Trivia Traveling Trophy. The golden urn (trophy) shows the names of the winning teams over the past 30 years.

Following the awards ceremony, the exhausted contestants and volunteers head to the Red Carpet Nightclub in downtown St. Cloud to celebrate surviving another Trivia Weekend. The Shake A Hamster Band takes the stage and performs their new theme-based numbers as well as some of the favorites from previous years.

KVSC encourages trivia enthusiasts from all over to pull together friends and family members to create a team or to consider becoming a phone bank volunteer for the weekend. The entire contest is also streamed live online. For information on registration and volunteering, visit www.kvsc.org.

KVSC 88.1FM, the Voice of St. Cloud since 1967, offers listeners an alternative format without commercials. KVSC features a diverse variety of music as well as news coverage and community events. The staff of KVSC 88.1FM is comprised of students and community volunteers.