All posts by Alice Picon

Ninth Annual Spelling Bee

Spelling Bee

Congratulations to winners Ken Rubin, Tim Levin, and Steph Chou of Bespoke Education, to the runners-up Michèle Cella, Jonathan Silverman, and Erik Weiselberg of Irvington High School, and to all the intrepid spellers who showed extraordinary grace under fire and unflagging good humor.

Thank you to all who contributed their many skills and talents – enunciator, judges, scorekeeper, performers, and technicians – to make the evening so entertaining.

And thanks, of course, to the generous volunteers, sponsors and advertisers who showed their support for the Irvington Public Library and made this 9th Bee possible.

Ninth Annual Spelling Bee

THE WINNING WORD: Triskaidekaphobia

Ninth Annual Spelling Bee winners - BeeSpoke

THE WINNING TEAM: Bee-Spoke

Photos by Staton Rabin

Play a Larger Role

Membership

Although your membership dues are already a significant gift to the library, you may want to contribute some of your valuable time as well. Opportunities exist to lend a hand on a regular, sporadic, or even once-a-year basis. We can always use help preparing for our books sales and spelling bees, as well as with fund-raising and advocacy in general. We’re especially seeking people with

  • computer skills,
  • experience fund-raising,
  • literary/publishing connections,
  • graphic art skills,
  • public relations experience,
  • legal or financial expertise,
  • children in the Irvington schools,
  • connections with the PTSA, IEF, Chamber of Commerce, or other community groups;

but we welcome anyone and everyone who’d like to lend a hand in any way at all. The best way to get in touch with us is by email: friends.irvington.library@gmail.com

2014 Flash Fiction Contest

Contests

“The doors to the library parted and…”

2014 FLASH FICTION CONTEST WINNERS

Adult
Cherilyn Kennedy (with Nathaniel Edgar)
Milton Lewin, Honorable Mention

Teen
Gillian Gold
Barbara Robertson, Honorable Mention

Child
Fitz Anderson
Marlo Gordon, Honorable Mention

Submissions to the 2014 Summer Flash Fiction Contest ran the gamut from hilarious to poignant, with some being witty, others whimsical, some poetical, others philosophical, and yet another erudite. Several were illustrated with fabulous artwork, such as the phantasmagorical scene below, drawn by Eytan Wronker. It was difficult to choose winners from such a panoply of creativity.

Illustration by Eytan Wronker

Eytan Wronker, 2014

What to Expect

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HERE’S WHAT TO EXPECT

The aim of the evening is to have fun with your family, friends and neighbors while showing support for our library.

The game is played in rounds of 4 or 5 teams each. A round consists of 7 words of increasing difficulty. The enunciator pronounces a word, defines it, and uses it in a sentence. Team members have thirty seconds to consult with each other and write the word on a white board. An increasing number of points will be awarded to your team for each consecutive word spelled correctly (1 point for the first word, 2 points for the second word, etc.). No points will be withdrawn for misspelled words.

When not participating in a round, contestants sit in the audience enjoying the laughs, the music, the entertainment, and the refreshments.

When all the teams have had a chance to play, the scorekeeper will announce the 5 highest scoring teams overall. Those teams will then participate in the championship round. In the championship round teams are eliminated from the competition as soon as they misspell a word. The last team to spell a word correctly will be the winner and take home the coveted trophy!

The Spelling Bee!

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Our 10th Annual
Community-Wide Spelling Bee

Friday, January 29, at 7 p.m.
at the Irvington Town Hall Theater

Information on how to sign up your team, sponsor the event, or buy advertising in the program is right here. Or you can e-mail us at friends.bee@gmail.com.

We welcome volunteers! If you’d like to help organize, promote, or run the event please get in touch with us!

Free Museum Passes

Library Programs

Visit Museums for FREE!

The Friends of the Library has arranged for Irvington Public Library card holders to have access to free passes to a select group of museums in New York City, Westchester, and beyond. Each museum has its own terms and conditions regarding these passes, so check the library website for more information. A limited number of passes is available at any one time, so contact the reference librarian to reserve yours.

FDR Presidential Library and Museum (as available)

The Frick Collection

The Guggenheim Museum (all branches)

The Hudson River Museum

The Intrepid Museum

The Katonah Museum of Art

The New York Historical Society

The New York Transit Museum

Storm King Art Center

 

Once More Unto The Beach

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Third Annual Penguin Plunge
Mattheissen Park
Saturday, March 15
11:30 AM

The Friends of the Library encourages you to support the Irvington Recreation and Parks Department’s efforts to raise  money.

It, like the library, has suffered budget cutbacks recently and needs private donations to maintain the programs and services it has always provided.

Every year some of us Friends form a team to participate in the Penguin Plunge. By sponsoring our team this year you are raising money for the Rec Department while raising awareness of the Friends of the Library.

You can learn more about this fund-raising event here.  Use  this link to sponsor our team (you’ll find us at the bottom of the right-hand column).

Down by the riverside 3