North Strand Roundup | Brunswick County spelling bee highlights Literacy Month

Nigel Hayes, University of Wisconsin basketball player, has the reputation at press conferences for using difficult words to spell. “Just to give the stenographer a hard time,” he said.

Matthew Ernst, chair of North Carolina’s Brunswick County Adult Spelling Bee, used one of Hayes’ words on Brunswick County commissioners.

Ernst said he goes to the April commissioners meeting each year to thank them for supporting the Brunswick County Literacy Council, to receive the annual proclamation declaring May as Literacy Month in Brunswick County and to promote the Adult Spelling Bee and A to Z Auction. He gives them an idea of how the Bee works by dividing the commissioners into groups and giving them words to spell. This year, one of the words was a Hayes’ word: logorrhea.

“I told them it was diarrhea of the mouth, and that was a hint to how it’s spelled,” he said. “It’s diarrhea with words. Talk. Talk. Talk. Talk.”

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines logorrhea as excessive and often incoherent talkativeness or wordiness. Ernst didn’t mention if any of the commissioners spelled the word correctly.

More than a dozen two-person teams will be competing in the Adult Spelling Bee, including the reigning champions, Anne Bailey and Anita Stevens, who will wear their signature “Queen Bees” T-shirts. The pair have competed more than a decade and were runners-up three times before winning the Bee in 2014.

“We’re unaccustomed to being the defending champions, and we’re grateful to all the people who believed in us,” Bailey said. “We’re looking forward to it.”

“We had not planned on coming back (in 2015), but we were challenged by the runners-up (Betty Wallace, mayor of Oak Island, N.C., and Donna Adkins, owner of Blackberry Marine in Southport, N.C.), so we felt we had to defend our championship,” Stevens said.

“This year’s words are taken from an issue of The Economist magazine,” Ernst said, adding that in the past, words were taken from an issue of Time magazine and another year The New York Times.

Judges will be Sheriff John Ingram V and Brunswick County manager Ann Hardy. Pronouncers are columnist Fran Salone-Pelletier and executive director of Smart Start of Brunswick County, Linda Gironda. Timer is Kim Loucks, vice president of the council board.

At least 100-plus items will be up for bid at the auction. Gift cards from restaurants, jewelers, specialty boutiques and other local businesses account for about 40 choices. Dorothy Hoerr, executive director of the literacy council, donated a signed copy of Nora Roberts’ latest book, “The Liar.” Games, household wares and original art are among the articles available for bids.

“I tell the spellers that orthography (the way in which the words of a language are spelled) does not appear to be their opponent. The real opponent is illiteracy,” Ernst said.

“I would love the support of the community to help us eradicate illiteracy,” Hoerr said. “My long-term goal is to have 25 teams, who would dress in a theme as the Queen Bees do, and for each team to bring their own cheering section. Then we would give prizes for the team with the best cheering section and the best costumes.”

“It’s just a really fun event,” said Susan Shook, president of the council board. “It’s competitive, but the people are there to have a good time.”

Lionfish and other invasive species

What | Dr. Richard Hilderman, retired Clemson University professor, speaks on how new organisms survive and thrive in a stable ecosystem

Where | Museum of Coastal Carolina, 21 E. Second St., Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

When | 1 p.m. May 15

Cost | Includes museum admission and Hilderman presentation, ages 13-61, $9; 62+, $8; 3-12, $7; 2 and under/members, free

Contact | 910-579-1016, www.museumplanetarium.org

Details | Hilderman was director of Clemson’s Genomic Institute and founding chair of the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry

Coastal Shag Club dance

What | Monthly shag club dance, includes shag, line dancing and other dances, 50/50 raffle

Where | Shallotte Moose Lodge, 253 Holden Beach Road, Shallotte, N.C.

When | 6:30-10:30 p.m. May 16

Cost | $5 for members of any shag club; $8, guests

Contact | boyd_pat@yahoo.com, www.CoastalShagClub.org

Details | Club meetings are first Thursday of the month, 6 p.m. at Shallotte Moose Lodge; dances are third Saturday of the month at 6:30 p.m.

Blue Crab Festival

What | 34th annual Blue Crab Festival

Where | On the waterfront, Little River

When | 9 a.m.-6 p.m. May 16-17

Cost | One-day advance, $4; two-day advance, $8; general admission, $5 per day; printable free ticket for children 12 and under when accompanied by paying adult

Contact | 249-6604, www.bluecrabfestival.org

Details | Advance ticket sales at Little River Chamber of Commerce, North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, all Coastal Carolina National Bank locations

Wildlife Portraits exhibit and reception

What | Grand opening of the new art exhibit featuring “Wildlife Portraits” by artist Don Bashore

Where | Museum of Coastal Carolina, 21 E. Second St., Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

When | noon-1 p.m. May 22

Cost | Ages 13-61, $9; 62+, $8; 3-12, $7; 2 and under/members, free

Contact | 910-579-1016, www.museumplanetarium.org

Details | Bashore works in scratchboard, a unique art form begun in the 1850s

Shallotte Farmers Market

What | Home-grown fruits and vegetables, home-baked breads and sweets, handcrafted pottery, jewelry and other items

Where | Riverside Park, N.C. 130 and Main Street, Shallotte, N.C.

When | 8 a.m.-noon Saturdays through Sept. 12

Cost | Free

Contact | 910-754-3728, 910-754-4032

Master Gardeners answer questions

What | Bring lawn and garden problems/questions to have Master Gardeners give answers

Where | Hickmans Crossroads Library, 1040 Calabash Road, Calabash, N.C.

When | 9 a.m.-noon Fridays through Nov. 13

Cost | Free

Contact | 910-575-0173, Christi.Iffergan@brunswickcountync.gov

Details | Free soil sampling

This story was originally published May 9, 2015 at 2:00 AM with the headline "North Strand Roundup | Brunswick County spelling bee highlights Literacy Month."