The MegaMind PubQuiz returns to Park City after a two-year break.
The new match is scheduled for one night from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, at Lush’s BBQ, 7182 N Silver Creek Rd., and PubQuiz Founder Colleen McGinn, who moved back east for a while, is glad to be back.
“I have family there and I just needed a bit of a recharge and visit the ocean,” she said. “I always thought it was a beach girl, but I missed the mountains. So it turns out I’m a mountain girl.”
No registration is required for Thursday night’s match; people just need to show up and enjoy some southern cooking by chef Richie Lush, who co-owns the restaurant with his finance, Nadine Ball.
“Richie is from the south, and legitimately knows how to cook those dishes,” she said. “The perfect recipe for MegaMind PubQuiz is beer, food, learning and friends, and since food is so important, I’m excited to hold this at Lush’s BBQ.”
Winners of the match will also get to try Lush’s cooking a second time, because the prize will be a gift certificate to the restaurant, according to McGinn.
“We want to introduce people to these places, especially ones like Lush’s, because they are pretty new to the community,” she said.
Over the years, MegaMind has evolved to better serve and entertain the community, according to McGinn.
“In the beginning it was about the weekly trivia nights at the local bars, and we worked hard on those to bring in fresh content every week,” she said. “Now, the focus will be, moving forward, to host more pop-up trivia nights in places that are new and places that are older once a month.”
McGinn will still host games for corporate events, as she has done for the Utah Jazz, Salt Lake Bees and eBay in Salt Lake City.
Thursday’s game at Lush’s BBQ will feature trivia that McGinn has researched and confirmed, something she has done since founding MegaMind PubQuiz a decade ago.
“Now, I think it’s about keeping the fun going and bringing in new knowledge,” she said. “It’s for all ages and different demographics. I want everyone to participate. And I think after two years, there is a lot more to explore with the trivia people want to learn about.”
McGinn enjoys doing research and coming up with questions.
“Park City is filled with smart people, so if I can bring them content that challenges them, I feel like what I’m bringing to the table is important,” she said.
McGinn also wants to connect with visitors through PubQuiz.
“It’s about giving visitors a part of the Park City experience of coming to a mountain town and feeling like they are part of the community,” she said. “I like getting people who are on vacation involved. This is another slice of the pie.”
A series of serendipitous events helped McGinn relaunch the MegaMind PubQuiz in Park City.
When she decided to move back to town, the apartment I lived in when I moved away had an opening, and the day she left to drive from Maryland back to Utah, McGinn received an email from Lush’s Barbecue asking about the PubQuiz.
“They said they were looking to do a trivia night,” she said. “It turned out that Richie and Nadine have followed MegaMind and came to it over the years. And they wanted to host a game to draw some attention to their own restaurant.”
But Lush and Ball weren’t the only ones who remembered McGinn and her list of trivia.
“I have found out a lot of the MegaMind followers have been anxiously waiting for it to start up again,” she said. “They tell me they haven’t forgotten what it was like to go do some trivia and have a good time. And I think that’s why it’s been going on for so long.”
Although the PubQuiz’s reputation remained strong while McGinn was living out of state, she didn’t know if she would start it up again when she returned.
“It’s always something I had in my back pocket, because I know people in this community enjoyed it,” she said. “I did think of starting it up in Annapolis, but I was there (during the pandemic) and it felt weird to think about asking people to gather.”
Throughout the time away, however, McGinn missed the energy she felt hosting games and tournaments.
“I missed the cheering, and I missed that feeling when we would finish up and people would tell me how much fun they had,” she said. “MegaMind PubQuiz was was about affecting people’s lives in a positive way. That’s why I will keep doing it.”