Can you name the first state capital of Illinois? (Kaskaskia)
How about what year Illinois won the rights to host the third Olympics? (1904, but St. Louis ended up hosting them instead)
There’s lots of Prairie State trivia to explore when historian Terry Lynch presents a “Happy Illinois Bicentennial Birthday Bash” at 4 p.m. May 6 at Naper Settlement in Naperville.
“The show is a mix of ‘This is Your Life’ meets ‘Jeopardy!,’ taking us through the origins of the early inhabitants up to our entering as the 21st state,” Lynch said. “It starts as an overview but soon becomes a game of trivia where people win prizes for answering my questions.”
Key Illinois historical figures will be highlighted along the way, including the likes of George Rogers Clark, Nathaniel Pope and Abraham Lincoln.
“We talk about many famous people from Illinois during the trivia portion of the event, from Jane Addams to Florenz Ziegfeld and everyone in between,” Lynch said. “Our trivia portion is a nice way to cover a lot of ground on people, events, natural history, county origins and even the meaning of some words, such as Wabash River.”
This bash format is a bit of a departure from Lynch’s usual approach to history.
“This is a different show for me because instead of dressing as an historical character, I am simply dressed as the host of the event, sporting one of our custom bicentennial shirts — one of which a lucky attendee will win in our final trivia round,” he said. “The whole show is designed to have fun learning about many of the unique people, places and events Illinois has been part of.”
It would be rather difficult to pack all this in a straight-up lecture — and not nearly as entertaining.
“Instead we made a game of it, and that is sometimes what people do at a birthday party, which is why we called it a birthday bash, to let people know we are out to have some fun,” Lynch said. “That is probable what I like most about the show — people have fun and are stumped by at least a few of the questions I have during the trivia portion.”
Lynch and his wife, Laura, have traveled Illinois extensively researching this show and filming in every one of its 102 counties.
“We saw just how expansive and diverse our state is,” Lynch said.
Illinois will officially turn 200 on Dec. 3, 2018. The Lynches have a website, www.historiesforkids.com, with a section dedicated to the bicentennial. They add a bicentennial minute every day and a video highlighting one county twice a week.
“We hope it will spark some interest in the crowd and maybe get people interested in discovering Illinois on their own,” Lynch said.
Bash reservations are recommended. For members, admission is $8 for adults and $7 for youth (ages 4-12). For nonmembers, admission is $10 for adults and $9 for youth.
Happy Illinois Bicentennial Birthday Bash at Naper Settlement
When: 4 p.m. May 6
Where: Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville
Tickets: $7-$10
Information: 630-420-6010; www.napersettlement.com
Jen Banowetz is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
