The Return of the Bee

Thirty-six teams swarmed Sea Road School Wednesday, March 30th for the return of the annual Spelling Bee. This year’s 2011 Spelling Bee, sponsored by the Kennebunk Savings Bank, showcased spellers from all three towns, each vying for the enviable title of Spelling Bee Champion. Hosted by infamous bee masters, Joseph Foster and Andrew Young, the event served as a “friend-raiser” for the Education Foundation of the Kennebunks and Arundel , welcoming the community to participate, to heckle and to be entertained.

The Federal Jack’s team, The Brew Bees, have been reading more than the Mr. Boston’s bar guide, as they cinched the first swarm on the eighth word “bivouac.” The Board Bees representing RSU#21 School Board, the only dynamic duo team, did not slip up on “vinaigrette”. Not afraid of competition, the Central Office Administration, The Aye Team, correctly spelled “edelweiss”, confirming that singing show tunes about small white flowers is considered a best practice. Late entry Goose Rocks Beach Volunteer Fire Department obviously had been watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the firehouse more than once to spell “fricassee” and advance to the next round. The third time was not a charm for the former champions from the Journal Tribune, renowned as the The Buzz Words; the twice-crowned champions fell victim to “saccharin”. The Spell Checkers from Graves Library advanced to round two effortlessly.

The final round, as exciting as it was for the audience, proved just too stressful for most and ended all too quickly as the runner-ups acquiesced to those tenacious brew masters from Federal Jack’s. Congratulations to Federal Jack’s and to all of the teams! Do not despair, we all have a year to read the dictionary and dream of capturing the bee!