Sign up for the Third Annual Spelling Bee

To Bee or not to Bee: that is certainly not the question as the Friends of the Scarsdale Library gear up for the third annual Adult and Teen Spelling Bee, to be held on Friday, February 1, 2013 at 7:30 PM in the Scarsdale High School Auditorium. The Spelling Bee, a Scarsdale institution in the making, is an important fund raising event for the Scarsdale Library.  Over the past two years, monies raised through the Spelling Bee have been used to make significant technology upgrades to the Library’s community room and to plan enhancements to the children’s room.

Besides raising money, the event provides a great evening of entertainment to the community during the winter doldrums.  Trivia games, music, a silent auction, and emcee Ed Coleman, the radio voice of the New York Mets, will keep audience members regaled between rounds of the Spelling Bee.  Of course, coming to the Bee and supporting friends and neighbors on the spelling teams will get the audience’s competitive blood racing.

Participants in the Spelling Bee compete as teams of up to three people.  Anyone of high-school age and above may participate, and the entrance fee is $150 per team.  Two rounds, the first written, and the second oral, winnow the field of teams down to the finalists and ultimate champions.  As Library trustee, Florie Wachtenheim, notes of her debuting team (Terri Simon and Jonathan Flaxer), “With great anticipation (Does anyone know a good spelling tutor?), we’re putting ourselves on the spelling line for a very good cause!”

Besides participating on a spelling team, sponsorship opportunities are available to businesses and individuals.  Contact Spelling Bee co-chair Sara Werder at 472-6264 or sarawerder@gmail.com to discuss sponsorship levels.

The deadline to enter as a team is December 31, 2012.  Only 20 teams will be accepted, so get your application in soon in order to avoid being shut out of this fun event.  Application forms are available at the Library or online.  For more information, contact Sara Werder or her co-chair Renu Lalwani at 917-584-8834 or renublalwani@gmail.com.