Spelling Bee tonight!

We'll see you tonight at Joe Van Gogh Durham.  Sign-up at 6:00 p.m. Spelling begins at 6:30 p.m. The first 25 spellers get a spot.  Every speller gets a prize!  Everyone else achieves total enlightenment.

Durham's Spelling Bee for Grown-Ups this Saturday!

Come on out to the Durham Spelling Bee on Saturday, November 20th at Joe Van Gogh.  Cheer for your favorite spellers and give it a try, yourself.  Support local Durham.  Achieve enlightenment.  Become happy forever.

     Sign up at 6:00 p.m.
     Spelling begins at 6:30 p.m.

There is a limit of 25 spellers, so come out and sign up early.  There will be prizes!


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Want to be in a documentary? Filming the Spelling Bee

Hi all,

A Duke student contacted me about filming the Durham Spelling Bee for a documentary film class.  He would like to get some interviews with participants before the bee.  Would you like to be interviewed before the upcoming Nov. 20 Bee? 

Kyle Kunkle will be filming the Bee at Joe Van Gogh on the 20th.  He is interested in talking to you beforehand about how you are preparing (or not) for the spelling bee and why you are participating or what you like about it.  If you have not participated before, but are planning on it for November 20, he would still be interested in hearing from you.  If you'd like to help him out, please contact Kyle at:

Feel free to drop me a line, too.

Durham Spelling Bee November 20!

Nothing says mid-autumn pre-Thanksgiving amusement like the Durham Spelling Bee.  And you're in luck because the next one is coming up on Saturday, November 20th at the lovely Joe Van Gogh coffee house, 1104B Broad Street, in Durham (map).

     Sign up at 6:00 p.m.
     Spelling begins at 6:30 p.m.

You have two and a half weeks to bone up (or not).  Want some pointers?  We have lots of word lists.

There is a limit of 25 spellers (unlimited friends and enthusiasts) so you'll want to arrive early enough to sign up, mingle, and enjoy the best espresso drinks in North Carolina.  Bring a friend and cheer each other on.  Oh, and there will be prizes!

Winner of the April 24th Durham Spelling Bee!

Hello spellers,

I have been remiss in my reporting duties.  It is one of those cases in which a person gets busy, a certain amount of time passes, and then the person gets kind of embarrassed by how far behind he got on his reporting duties.  I am happy to report that the person is well beyond the embarrassment stage, past the ashamed stage, and resting comfortably in the "just post something" stage, so the person can update now.

The winner of our April 24th Durham Spelling Bee is Jen Poole!  Jen stayed in for 10 rounds, spelling every word given to her seemingly effortlessly.  Jen made a last-minute decision to join the roster of spellers, and look what happened!  This proves something...  something about snap decisions changing the course of history.  Yes, the world is a better place because each of the thirteen spellers decided to spell and have fun.  You don't even want to think about what the world would be like now had they not made their decisions.  Keep this important lesson in mind.

I don't have the list in front of me at the moment so I will have to come back later to tell you the winning word.  Joe Nofziger is our 2nd place winner for the 2nd time in a row.  Will he be a contender in our next Bee?   Will you?  Let's find out!

Spelling bee tonight

The Durham Spelling Bee is tonight, Saturday, April 24th at Joe Van Gogh.  Spellers from 15 to 115 are welcome to compete.  Support local Durham.  Cheer for your favorite spellers!

     Sign up at 6:00 p.m.
     Spelling begins at 6:30 p.m.

There is a limit of 25 spellers, so sign up early if you want a spot.  There will be prizes!


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One week until the next bee

Come on out to the next Durham Spelling Bee on Saturday, April 24th at Joe Van Gogh.  Spellers from 15 to 115 are welcome to compete.  Spectators of all ages are welcome, too.  Cheer for your favorite spellers.  Support local Durham.  Maybe become famous on the Internet!

     Sign up at 6:00 p.m.
     Spelling begins at 6:30 p.m.

There is a limit of 25 spellers, so sign up early if you want a spot.  There will be prizes!


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Next Durham Spelling Bee coming up!

The Durham Spelling Bee is coming up on Saturday, April 24th at Joe Van Gogh.  It's a game of zest and test!* 

     Sign up at 6:00 p.m.
     Spelling begins at 6:30 p.m.

You have more than two weeks to hone your spelling skills.  If you'd like some pointers, scroll through this here blog; you'll find lots of spelling lists to choose from.

We are limited to 25 spellers, so you'll want to arrive early enough to sign up, mingle, and enjoy a beverage.  Everyone likes rooters, too.


*From Paul Wing's Spelling Bee (Thanks, Jen!)

More from the March 13th Bee

My apologies for the delay in posting. Here is our winner, Colie Hoffman!

Colie's winning word was "schism."  Colie and Joe Nofziger used up all the really difficult words (e.g. zugzwang, bouquiniste, lagniappe, estaminet, vichyssoise), so we had to revert to the merely difficult (e.g. muumuu, exchequer, mulct, troglodytic, asceticism).  Several of the contestants went many rounds this time.  Yippee!

2nd Bee results! DSB in the news.

Congratulations to Colie Hoffman, winner of the 2nd Durham Spelling Bee!

What a great time we all had!  While there were fewer in attendance this time (I neglected to account for Spring break and some kind of basketball tournament thingy), there were more — far more — words than before.  The Bee went 26 rounds, the final 16 of which added up to a head-to-head suspense-fest between Colie and Joe Nofziger, our 2nd place winner.  There was a wonderful spirit of camaraderie in the air.

The event was covered by a reporter and a photographer from The Herald-Sun.  They did a fine job of summing up the competition.  Check out the story and photos.  Thanks to Joe Van Gogh for providing prizes and for being such a delightful place to have fun and meet new friends.

Tonight's the night

 

I'll see you all tonight.  Have fun.  Good luck!

Durham Spelling Bee next Saturday!

The second Durham Spelling Bee is next week on Saturday, March 13. Sign-in at 6:00 p.m.   Spelling begins at 6:30 p.m.

Something new: there will be a limit of 30 spellers, so please get there early enough to sign up, mingle, and enjoy a beverage.

The Bee will be at the excellent Joe Van Gogh, 1104B Broad Street.  They have great beans.  And they are providing great coffee prizes!

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I look forward to seeing you there!

Scripps regional qualifier results

The regional qualifier for the Scripps National Spelling Bee was exciting!  Congratulations to Jessia Connelly, who will go on to represent the Durham/Orange County region at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington DC.  Congratulations, also, to Amber McDonald for winning 2nd place.  All the spellers were very impressive.  What a great bunch of kids!

Duke hosts regional qualifier for the Scripps National Spelling Bee

This weekend, Duke University will host the regional qualifier for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

What	Regional Spelling Bee
When	Mar 06, 2010 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Where	Duke University - Page Auditorium

Winning spellers from schools in Durham and Orange counties will compete for a spot in the National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC, June 2-4, 2010.

One month until the next DSB!

The second Durham Spelling Bee will be held on Saturday, March 13, 2010. Sign-in at 6:00 p.m. Spelling starts at 6:30 p.m. 

As usual the Bee will be at everyone's favorite coffee house, Joe Van Gogh, 1104B Broad Street.  Get yourself some beans!

And remember: there will be prizes!

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1st Durham Spelling Bee Results!

 
Winner Collin Lee (right) and Spelling G

Congratulations to Collin Lee, the winner of the 1st Durham Spelling Bee! Collin went 5 rounds, winning the Bee with the word, infundibuliform (shaped like a funnel).  Second place honors went to Stephanie (CogSciLibrarian) who was neck and neck with Collin until going out on the word, huhu (a New Zealand beetle larva).

We all had a great time.  There were 22 spellers from a total of about 70 people in attendance.  A few of the spellers even came with their own cheering sections.  Team Funk had especially creative signs.  Words ranged from the fun and easy (welcome, friendly, spunky) to the face-squinching (gobemouche, eleemosynary, deipnosophist).  See below for the complete list of words used in the Bee.

Many thanks to Tracy and Joe Van Gogh for sponsoring the Bee and providing the prizes (travel mugs, coffee beans and a $25 gift certificate!).  Thanks also to Mike F. and Russ G. for providing audio equipment and to Mark D. for all the running around and troubleshooting.  Special thanks go to Liz for saving the day with her technical and social expertise.  She rocks so hard.

 

Here is a complete list of words used at the Bee:
welcome
friendly
greeting
salutation
leisure
pleasant
gratifying
agreeable
amiable
chummy
companionship
affectionate
amusement
harmony
entertainment
interesting
exciting
muffin
fearless
courage
valiant
spunky
abyss
access
anthem
cocoon
dillydally
enchilada
fictitious
fiery
gibberish
hubbub
jackal
juggernaut
lemonade
leotard
lozenge
macaroon
ointment
oxygen
posse
preen
quantum
sausage
accordionist
adjacent
aerial
affability
ambitious
barbarous
bellicose
billionaire
correspondent
cosmopolitan
dashiki
eloquent
exquisite
foofaraw
generalissimo
homonym
iniquity
jackanapes
poltroon
pompous
porcine
camaraderie
carillon
dirndl
echolalia
epitome
eschew
estuarine
flaneur
frigorific
gnocchi
inimitable
inveigle
juxtaposition
katzenjammer
legerdemain
otiose
pellagra
polloi
antimacassar
bouillabaisse
deipnosophist
dickcissel
ditokous
eleemosynary
galactorrhea
gobemouche
hohe
mansuetude
huhu
infundibuliform

More photos here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/inkdrinker01/DurhamSpellingBee

Thanks to everyone for participating.  
You all made it a fun event!

One week until Spelling Day

The 1st Bee is only one week away!  Watch this space for PRIZES and rules.


Date/time/place/map are here:
http://durhamspellingbee.blogspot.com/2009/12/we-have-date-first-durham-spelling-bee.html

We have a date!

We have a date! The first Durham Spelling Bee will be held on Saturday, January 23, 2010. Sign-in at 6:00 p.m. Spelling starts at 6:30 p.m. The Bee will be at the wonderful Joe Van Gogh coffee house, 1104B Broad Street. They have the best coffee and espresso drinks in town, and the staff is very friendly and knowledgeable.

Plus: there will be prizes!

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