Spell You Later!

Hey there smarties!

We are now on MySpace... soooo... check us out!

http://myspace.com/spellyoulater

Also, we will send you another reminder, but don't forget the next Bee
is on Monday!

This time it is in the Big Theater in the back of the wonderful
Warehouse Cafe. Joining us will be the amazing Brandon L. Butler!

See you soon!

N+J

Round 2: Peeeeeekaboo

The second preliminary felt like kind of like an illicit, back-room, underground meeting since we weren't in the big theater. Nick and I schlepped the night before and gathered just about every chair that wasn't nailed to the ground and set up shop in the gallery. Anna worked the back bar so there were beers for all, and we introduced Jason Huddo (of Aquarium) as our new house "band". He helped us battle the noise from the Next Door show with keyboard accompaniment and MORE COWBELL. Hurrah for cowbell!

Winners for this round:

1st: Joseph McGill (every single word correct)
2nd: Michelle Robinson (aka cute red shirt purchased on ebay)
3rd: Alan "Hey Man" Heymann

Thanks for being such good sports, and even better spellers. Seriously, this time it was crucial: no misspellings were allowed (until the lightning round, or, "muscle for rank" round), so these champs beat some pretty slim odds.

Also, we got an email from one Joe Price complaining about alleged "softballs" to some of the contestants. All I can say is this: we use Scripps National Spelling Bee words, which come from a very varied list. Words that are easy to some are hard for others, and vice versa.

The best place for whiners is in the audience- that means more room for spellers on stage!

Here are some photos from the first preliminary!

Round 1!

We have wieners! er, I mean winners!

Congratulations:

Nathan Tsoi (1st)
Holly Bass (2nd)
Lea Winerman and Ben Healy (3rd)

A big thank you to everyone who came out last night, spellers, supporters, hecklers- we had a blast and hope you did too! We're dreadfully sorry that things ran so long, but Lea and Ben were just too smart for time restraints.

It was truly awesome to kick things off with a whopping 18 contenders. I'm glad to know we're not the only nerds in town! For those of you who didn't place, we encourage you to come back and try again (and again!).

We got a lot of useful feedback from some of you, and we plan to implement a few changes for the upcoming rounds. Stay tuned.....

PS: note the date changes for the bands on the 8th and 22nd!

May 8 w/ French Toast (in the big theater)
May 22 w/ Shortstack and Revival (in the small theater)

THE DC BEE

Nick P & Juhi B along with the Warehouse Theater present: The DC BEE

Spell for fun! Spell for glory! Spell for drinks! Spell rhododendron!

The best and worst spellers compete for the Grand Prize to be awarded on June 5th: A killer trophy, cold hard cash, bragging rights, and prizes from DC's finest bars, restaurants and boutiques!

Every other Monday at the Warehouse Theater: compete for bar tabs courtesy of the Warehouse and a spot in the Final on June 5th!

Preliminaries are March 27, April 10, April 24, May 8, May 22
The Final: JUNE 5th w/ bands TBA

Sign up 7:30 - 8:30
Spell/Cheer/Heckle 8:30

It's FREE!

With weekly musical performances by:

The Aquarium
Benjy Ferree
Damien and Matthew Taylor
Brandon Butler
Shortstack
Revival
French Toast
and more

for more information:

www.DCBee.blogspot.com
www. warehousetheater.com

or email: DCBeeInfo@gmail.com

The Warehouse Theater is located at 1017 7th St. NW in Washington DC conveniently between the Chinatown and Convention Center Metro stops.

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more details
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Schedule of Preliminaries

March 27 w/ Aquarium and Benjy Ferree (in the big theater)
April 10 w/ Damien and Matthew Taylor (in the small theater)
April 24 w/ Brandon Butler (in the big theater)
May 8 w/ French Toast (in the big theater)
May 22 w/ Shortstack and Revival (in the small theater)

The Final: JUNE 5th w/ bands TBA

Rules:

To qualify for placement in the Final, you must place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in a Preliminary round.

Contestants are allowed one (1) misspelling before disqualification from a Preliminary.

There is no limit to the number of times a participant may compete in Preliminaries, regardless of whether or not they have already won placement in the Final.

All spelling words in the DC Bee will be taken from the Scripps National Spelling Bee Consolidated Word List, which can be downloaded here

Awards for winners of Preliminary rounds are as follows:

1st place: $15 bar tab at the Warehouse + placement in the Final
2nd place: $10 bar tab + placement in the Final
3rd place: $5 bar tab + placement in the Final

Sign Up is open between 7:30 - 8:30 before each Preliminary