Desert Trivia fundraiser for Big Morongo Canyon Preserve at Spaghetti Western this Wednesday (4/22)

Morongo Valley’s Spaghetti Western will be holding a Desert Trivia Fundraiser for Big Morongo Canyon Preserve on Earthday: Wednesday, April 22 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Reporter Gabriel Hart sat down with Desert Trivia host Sarah Witt to learn more about the fundraiser and how she got involved hosting this annual event. 

A resident of the Morongo Basin for nearly ten years, Desert Trivia host Sarah Witt is a hiking guide, a facilitator of outdoor education for elementary school programs, and a participant in various local non-profits. In spring of 2024, Witt started the Desert Trivia night as the capstone to her California Naturalist Program through the UC system, and was soon approached by Big Morongo Canyon Preserve to host their annual fundraising event. When asked how she became such a desert trivia buff, Witt said:

“I’m a big nerd. When I first moved out here and was working as a chef and was really interested in cooking with native desert plants and I went down a rabbit hole and learned all about the edible and medicinal plants of the Mojave Desert, and from there just kind of continue to learn more about the desert. It’s a gateway for me.” 

Witt says the trivia is strictly desert themed. At last year’s event she had local flora, birds and other animal categories, as well as history of the Big Morongo Canyon. Witt says they’re trying something more tactile this year. 

“This year the categories are changing though we’re gonna have a really fun hands-on sensory category with smells and sounds and touches so I’m really excited to bring some actual matter into. I’m figuring that out right now and that’s what keeps this kind of thing fun for me. I’m imagining a cardboard box with a black cloth over it that you have to your hand into.”

I asked if these Desert Trivia nights stay relatively peaceful or if they get really rowdy like the notorious Desert Bingo. Witt said, “Oh, nowhere near as rowdy as Desert Bingo. We are a tame bird watching crowd. But you know, it gets a little competitive and I will say there’s some very obscure questions and there were a lot of people who knew those last year, so I’m trying to make sure I’ve got enough for the desert beginners or people who just want to expand their knowledge on the desert in useful ways while having some really kind of head scratching questions for those people that already live way down that rabbit hole.”

The Desert Trivia fundraiser for Big Morongo Canyon Preserve starts at 6:30 this Wednesday but Witt recommends showing up early at 6:00 to sign up and secure your seat. Trivia is $10 per person or $25 for trivia plus four tickets for prize drawings. There will also be signature cocktails served for the event, which proceeds go to Big Morongo Canyon Preserve. Spaghetti Western is located at 50048 Twentynine Palms Hwy in Morongo Valley. 

If you can’t attend the event but would still like to donate, visit bigmorongo.org.