ST. CLOUD, Minn. — KVSC 88.1FM is hosting its 32nd annual Trivia Weekend contest Feb. 11-13. This year’s theme “Superheroes of Trivia” was chosen by listener submissions and represents the impact of heroic characters of both real and fictional prominence in popular culture.

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 online. The event differs from the typical board game or bar trivia; it is more of an information treasure hunt. With many theme-based and general questions in pop culture, history, science and more, KVSC’s Trivia Weekend has become a staple in Central Minnesota.

Much of the fun of trivia weekend is found in the studios of KVSC. Hundreds of phone bank volunteers, many in theme-appropriate costume, answer calls non-stop, fueled by food donated by local businesses. The volunteers, who are comprised current students, community members and alumni are the true superheroes of the event, donating more than 2,300 hours of their time.

This year’s Trivia Weekend is complete with a costume contest for players and volunteers alike. Participants will post photos of themselves in their superhero costume at facebook.com/kvsc881fm with prizes awarded during the awards ceremony.

The awards ceremony takes place in Ritsche Auditorium at the conclusion of the 50-hour trivia marathon. All the trivia teams and volunteers convene with the winning team announced and awarded the coveted Minnesota Masters of Trivia Traveling Trophy. The golden urn (trophy) shows the names of each of the winning teams over the years. The awards ceremony also sees inductions into the trivia hall of fame, photo opportunities and other awards as well.

Following the awards ceremony, contestants and volunteers are invited to attend a post-trivia celebration at the Red Carpet Nightclub in downtown St. Cloud. The Shake A Hamster Band will take stage and perform their new Superheroes of Trivia parody songs they produced in the KVSC performance studio all weekend.

Trivia Weekend is once again broadcasting throughout most of Minnesota and globally at kvsc.org. In addition to Minnesota stations in Austin (KMSK), Mankato (KMSU) and Thief River Falls (KSRQ), the contest is now expanding its coverage to a new media market in Duluth (KUMD).

Trivia Weekend began in 1980 as an event put on by KVSC and the SCSU Residence Hall Association as a way for students to cope with the long and frigid Minnesota winter. That year, a staff of 14 answered calls on four phone lines from 50 teams. Now, more than 30 years later, KVSC requires hundreds of volunteers to staff the 30 trivia hotlines and has around 70 participating teams.

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.

Additional links:

• Team registration packet (pdf)
• Full-size Superheroes of Trivia poster (pdf)
• Trivia epic in three parts (podcast)
• RSVP at the Facebook event page

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