By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
If you can remember the first line of “Pride and Prejudice,” or when the Sitka Public Library was most recently remodeled, you may be a contender in the Library Pub Quiz this Thursday.
The event is 6:30 p.m. at Harrigan Centennial Hall. The quiz is one of the final events in the 100th year celebration of the public library in Sitka.
Teams of one to three people will receive a copy of the Sitka Public Library Walking Tour, and they are advised to read it, since the trivia contest will include questions on libraries as well as books, media and the Sitka Public Library.
The contest will take place in three timed rounds, with 10 questions per round. Teams record their answers on an answer sheet to be turned in at the end of the round.
“We’ve thrown in some soft ball questions to make up for the killer questions,” said Kari Sagel, who is on the 100th Year Committee.
Quiz contestants won’t be allowed to use smartphones, but the audience will be invited to use theirs to take part in other contests between the Pub Quiz rounds. “Cheating allowed,” said Jeff Budd, one of the organizers, of the audience games.
“Cheating is encouraged during the audience games but we will be strict on the pub quiz itself,” Sagel said.
Teams are asked to arrive 20 minutes before the contest, and are encouraged to dress creatively. Teams are required to select an amusing name, organizers said.
The team entry fee is $30 per team. Tickets to watch are available for a donation of $5 at Old Harbor Books and the door.
So far nine teams have signed up and space is limited to 15 teams.
The winning team will receive a $100 gift certificate; second place receives a $50 gift certificate; and third gets a $25 gift certificate. There are also $25 prizes for the best team names and costumes.
Those with questions may call Jeff Budd at 907-747-4821, or email jbudd3500@gmail.com.
The 100th celebration was two years in the works, coordinated by the 100th Year Committee which held numerous fundraisers for the celebrations. Friends of the Library, the Sitka Public Library, the Library Commission all played a part in marking the celebration.
The final event is the Louise Brightman Tea on April 30, celebrating Sitka’s longest-serving librarian. Brightman started as an assistant in the library in the early 1930s and retired as librarian in December 1972.
Sagel, herself a librarian, said she’s happy with how the events have turned out, and the large public participation in both fundraisers and celebratory events.
“When we celebrate the library, we celebrate Sitka,” she said. “I think the future of the library is bright.”
