Chicago prize sponsors!

Did I tell you Chicago would be big? As a matter of fact, yes, I did. And we're putting together the prizes to prove it. The show is one week away, Thursday, October 4, at Uncommon Ground in Edgewater, hosted by the fabulous Quizmistress Katie. And we got goodies galore.

The grand prize, of course, is $200. That can buy a lot of Polish sausage, my stereotypical Chicago friends. We also have the goodies I've already told you about: passes to Chicago's unbeatable Adler Planetarium; tickets to the Bailiwick Chicago's production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; a $50 gift card from our fine, fine venue, Uncommon Ground; and now, some more.

This first one, this is big…

Legendary doesn't even begin to describe The Second City, ground zero for American comedy for the past several decades. I mean, seriously, look at this list of alumni, it's almost perverse. During my very first visit to Chicago, age 14, I had only one priority: see an improv show at the Second City (okay, also visit my elderly aunts and uncles; happy now, Dad?). At the time, comedy for me began and ended with Saturday Night Live—dude, I had an autographed photo of Mike Myers, a SC alum of course, hung above my bed—and I (correctly) understood that between its Chicago and Toronto locations, the Second City was the fertile soil from which SNL sprung (I also heard tell of something in L.A. called the Groundlings; the UCB didn't exist yet, of course).

Not the show I saw.

It blew me away—real people, doing real comedy on a real stage. I immediately vowed that the moment I graduated college, I would light out for Chicago and audition for the Second City. (Alas, New York called instead. Oh, and when I did try professional comedy, I sucked.) But the experience stuck with me anyway, and now it's a true honor to have the institution sponsoring the very first Chicago Big Quiz Thing. They're kicking in two passes to the SC theater proper, and two more to their stand-up–oriented annex, the UP Comedy Club. Excellent.

More sponsors: As you BQT loyalists know, we love to give away sugary treats at every show, and we've managed to wrangle a supremely sugary sponsor: Ann Sather, a beloved Chicago institution. Nominally the place is a Swedish diner, but man, those Swedes sure do know their desserts. We've got a few of them for some lucky players at the inaugural Chicago BQT, along with a $20 gift card.

 Whatever this is, I want it.

Convinced? I know I am—hell, I'm flying out for this show! Thursday, October 4. I can confidently state, this will be the greatest live quiz event in Chicago's history. See you/your Windy City friends there.