[1] There has been an ever-growing buzz about a new bar game that actually stimulates intellectual activity. The Spelling Bee, otherwise known as the Spleling Be, invites people come out to Germantown bars once a month to have a beer and compete in a spelling bee that is actually quite rigorous (the MC uses a GRE vocabulary flashcard deck). I only made it to the second round.
Patrons show up the night of the bee and register (for free) to compete, immunity on one foul-up is given to anyone wearing a bee costume, or some combination of yellow and black. The spirit of the event isn’t just competition. Participants cheer each other on, laugh, and overall enjoy a night out at the bar. Spellers compete for a $50 prize be it concert tickets, gift cards, etc.
For a while the night was held at the Nach Bar, but it has now moved to Zanzabar [3] and the rules have broadened to allow teams to compete versus only individuals (however, there is no more bee-suit immunity).
The Spelling Bee, started by Emily Foerster as an interesting twist to a night out to break the winter blues, but it has since grown into something more important and with that it has garnered a lot of attention. Recently, the Spelling Bee has partnered with the Idea Festival to continue putting on the bee in Louisville and now in Lexington, too. Louisville Magazine [4] has hailed Foerster’s success of bringing out a young crowd with the promise of intellectual stimulation, and the monthly event has been featured on the mental_floss magazine website.
The next Spelling Bee is on December 22 at Zanzabar [5] on Preston, registration starts at 7:30pm and the bee starts at 8:30pm.