Last Saturday, September 20th, Cates Chapel was a “hive” of activity and excitement as the 2nd Annual Adult Spelling Bee crowned a new Golden Bee Champion! The winners this year were the Arts Avengers who beat out last year’s title holders, the Beekeepers, by a slim 20 points or 3 words.
It was a tight race for the Arts Avenger team members, Peter Williamson, Susanna Braund, Nerys Poole and Sue Ellen Fast. They led each round by just one or two words, and finally tipped the balance by correctly spelling the final and bonus word agelast – “someone who never laughs.” Ironically the Arts Avenger had the last laugh with the winning score of 275 points.
This year not only were there five teams competing, but the audience was also able to spell along in their programs. While many audience members earned more than 75 points, only a handful scored over 150. “Humbling” was the sentiment for many audience members, but everyone had a great time regardless of their spelling abilities. The evening was entertaining, fun and informative.
We learned how to correctly pronounce krummholz (thank you Everhard van Lidth de Jeude) and that the person walking on the circus high wire is not so commonly called a funambulist.
Surprisingly the words spelled wrong by the most teams were not just from the “hard” category. Canoodle and curlicue from the list of easy words were tough for many teams while the medium word list also had some surprising challenges – desiccate (yes just one “s”), fricassee and diphthong to name a few. But perhaps the best word spelled incorrectly by all teams was not actually a word at all: Covfefe was a fun bonus word reminding us all that even if you can’t spell (or can’t tell what is a real word) you can still become the President of the United States!
Audience votes for the Best Team Theme prize went to the Spell Checkers (John Givins, Trish Keating, Pam Culver and Mike Trevillion) with their amazing checkerboard vests and hats. And special mention goes to Buzz Light and the Pollinators (Roger McGillivray, Susan Swift, Stephanie Legg and Nancy Lamphear) who won the Most Spirited Team award.
This year’s Spelling Bee was a fundraiser for the plaza portion of our Cove Commons project. The building is coming along nicely and with luck should be ready to open by year’s end. Now Phase 2 of our fundraising will focus on development of the plaza – a town square for Bowen. Thank you to the many audience members who donated online or at the Bee. If you would like to support the Cove Commons Plaza donations can be made online through our website https://www.annexgalleryproject.com
Many thanks to the dozens of “worker bees” who volunteered to choose words, keep score, keep time, set up, deliver stage and tables, decorate, serve food, sell tickets, pour wine, call words, pick up supplies and then take it all down again and return everything to its proper home! You are an amazing group.
Thank you to our sponsors and donors Barcelona Tapas & Wine Bar, Bowen Island Pub, Beaty’s Bowen Honey, Bowen Island Rotary Club and Theatre on the Isle.
