Spelling Bee

“A mix of irony seekers and hardcore spelling nerds.”
- TimeOut New York -

“…the bar game of choice for self-proclaimed geeks and well-groomed lovers of logorrhea.”
- The Village Voice -

“…go for the cold drinks and the inevitable laughs derived from
watching a person who is tipsy try to spell trichotillomania.”
- The New York Times -

About The Bee

The Williamsburg Spelling Bee is a real, cabaret-style, adults-only spelling bee that takes place every other Monday at Pete’s Candy Store in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. Founded in September 2004, the bee has passed its fifth birthday, and over one hundred and fifty bees have been held.

The bee has received some good press, and has its own blog, located at http://www.williamsburgspellingbee.com.

As co-emcee, I have been reading the words at the bee and generally publicizing things since September 2004. Singer bobbyblue is the better half of this duo; he founded the bee in 2004, sings our original theme song, and has done an amazing job securing prizes for our Finals.  (By the way, any company who wants to donate appropriate prizes is welcome to contact us!  Previous and current sponsors have included the Oxford English Dictionary, Bananagrams, the Brooklyn Museum, Neighborhoodies, and many more).

Jen and bobby are also for hire for private spelling-related events; Jen also hosts trivia, vocabulary, math, geography events.  For more information, please visit SpellingforAdults.com.

The Schedule

Season 12  (2010) – every other Monday, minus occasional holidays:

Aug 16 & 30
Sept 13 & 27
Oct 11 & 25
Nov 8 & 22
F-I-N-A-L-S: Dec 6

Signup at 7pm, compete at 7:30
Free.  Bar tab and prizes for winners.
petescandystore.com / williamsburgspellingbee.com

Directions to Pete’s: Take the L train to the second stop in Brooklyn, Lorimer. Exit at the head of the train, and walk along Lorimer in the direction of the BQE. Pete’s is 1.5 blocks past the BQE, on your left. 709 Lorimer Street, between Frost and Richardson Streets. (718) 302-3770. (map)

The Rules

1. Signup starts at 7pm and we take the first 18 people.

2. Open to everyone who’s legally allowed to be in a bar.

3. Three-strikes-you’re-out — you get two “freebies”!

4. Beer is encouraged.

5. Everyone is welcome to participate in every spelling bee up to the Finals, when the winners of the season’s previous bees will square off for the championship!

6. You don’t actually have to say the word before and after spelling it, but it’s a nice idea.  If you start spelling a word and you lose your place, you can start over without changing anything, but once a letter comes out of your mouth, it’s set in stone.

7. If you’re Canadian (or even if you aren’t), you can say “zed” for “z” and “double-l” instead of “l, l”; however, all spellings must be American-style.

8. You can’t bring pen and paper up to the mic, but you can pretend to write on your hand if you want.

Multimedia:

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Press:

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