Trekkie
Trivia
Starlight Lounge hosts a wild sci-fi happy hour
L
ate-night bar trivia is only fun if you
occasionally know an answer or two.
Otherwise you end up quietly resenting
your teammates for knowing so much
about 1980s sports and leisure. Not that
I’m speaking from experience.
So when I heard about Star One,
Eugene’s science fiction and fantasy happy
hour at Starlight Lounge downtown, I
squeaked with delight. The nature of the event
varies month to month, but when I attended in
February, trivia maven Dr. Seven Phoenix had
taken the helm and was orchestrating a killer
game of science fiction-themed trivia.
As someone with moderately nerdy
inclinations (think Star Trek, Doctor Who,
Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter), I immediately
realized that sci-fi trivia could be a thing of
wonder. And it was.
“My vision for this is the idea of bringing
people together,” says Starlight Lounge co-
owner Julie Anna. “Let’s say you’re new
to town and you love Firefly. If you’re here,
you might meet someone else who enjoys the
show, and friendships can start from there.”
Anna and Starlight Lounge co-owner
Jocee Moine are big sci-fi fans, and when
they noticed a lack of sci-fi meet-up groups
in Eugene, they decided to start their own in
late 2015. Anna says previous meetings have
included guest speakers and game nights, but
trivia has proven the most popular.
I can see why. The packed bar hummed with
energy and excitement as trivia moderator Dr.
Seven Phoenix announced the first topic: Star
Trek. I sipped on my hard cider and braced
myself for the first question.
For those not familiar with trivia, here’s
how it usually works: Participants split into
teams of varying sizes — you can go solo if
you want — and choose a team name. My
BY AMY SCHNEIDER
fiancé and I christened ourselves “The Beverly Crushers,”
a witty reference to a Star Trek character who … never
mind — let us not venture into unnecessarily geeky
terrain.
Moving on: The trivia moderator selects a number of
rounds, and each round has a theme and a set number of
questions. Once the round is over, a team member brings
the filled-out answer sheet to the moderator, who scores
all the sheets between rounds and keeps a tally.
Dr. Seven Phoenix’s questions were challenging, and
even though I’m a Star Trek fan, I can’t say I did well.
I knew which character made a come-on to an android
(Tasha Yar) and I knew which Sex and the City actress had
played a character in Star Trek IV (Kim Cattrall), but when
asked to name the planet on which Worf’s
father had died, I came up short. Overall, we
scored 4/10 for the round.
Round two featured sci-fi and fantasy
novels on a sheet of paper, the objective being
to identify the author from the book cover
and title. My partner and I did much better
on this round, gleefully scribbling “Ursula K.
Le Guin” and “George Orwell” on the page.
We nabbed 7/10 and treated ourselves to free
samples of cider from 2 Towns Ciderhouse,
which happened to be repping that night.
Round three brought more challenges —
we had to name the sci-fi or fantasy TV show
theme song after listening to a clip. Game of
Thrones and Angel were a cinch, but Babylon
5 stumped us.
By this point in the night, we found
ourselves seriously out-nerded and trailing
behind in seventh place, but there was plenty
of cider, so we didn’t even care.
I have to say, the level of sci-fi commitment
in the room was palpable. I’ve never been more
proud of Eugene, and even though I seriously
got my nerdy ass kicked, it was all in the spirit
of camaraderie and fun.
“I think it’s great how mainstream sci-fi is
becoming, as more people are coming out of
the geek closet,” Anna says.
In continuing with that spirit, Starlight
Lounge will host a Serenity watch party at
7 pm Friday, March 18, 830 Olive Street in
downtown Eugene; 21-plus. It’ll be the shiniest
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sci-fi happy hour yet. ■
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