NORTHAMPTON — Some buzz returns to the city this month when the Northampton Education Foundation launches its first-ever Trivia Bee, a virtual event that will take the place of the group’s annual Spelling Bee typically held each spring.
The Spelling Bee, meanwhile, cancelled for the last two years, will move to the fall for 2022.
The Trivia Bee is scheduled for Wednesday, April 13, at 7 p.m. over Zoom. The event will be conducted virtually to keep participants safe, board member Megan Rubiner Zinn said. The goal of the Trivia Bee is to help make up lost income from the previous year of not hosting the spelling bee and will be a “fun community event that we haven’t been able to have in two years,” Zinn said.
The Trivia Bee will be guided by Trivia Brothers, an organization created by brothers Brett and Nik Outchcunis that hosts trivia for groups under different themes such as school and library events, birthday parties and corporate team building events. Participants in the Trivia Bee will be able to interact with the game over their computers and smartphones.
The Northampton Education Foundation uses the proceeds from the event, as well as the Spelling Bee, to fund its Small Grants to Teachers program. Since NEF began in June 2002, the organization has distributed over $1 million to Northampton teachers for student projects, events and professional development.
“The spelling bee was the biggest fundraiser for our Small Grants to Teachers program,” Zinn added, so the Trivia Bee is just an “alternative.”
Participants pay a fee of $25 and can either form a recommended team of three to six players or play as an individual. This year, there will be prizes for the winning team, the best team name, the most humorous team and best on-screen pet cameo. Once registered, participants will receive a Zoom link a day before the event.
Sponsorships are expected to provide most of the income for the Trivia Bee. To date, 16 sponsors have signed up and NEF is looking for more. Sponsors can sign up for three different levels: Brainiac, which costs $250; Mastermind, which costs $500; and Genius, which costs $1,000.
“Individuals and organizations are really supportive of the NEF organization and it was lovely to see how quickly the sponsors responded,” Zinn said.
Non-participants will also be able to watch, with details coming out soon on the NEF website.
“I am looking forward to, as part of NEF, doing a community event,” Zinn said.
The event will not replace the foundation’s famed adult spelling bee, which is now set to return in-person this fall, Zinn said. The spelling bee had to be canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19 and was not scheduled in 2021, again because of the pandemic.
To sign up as a sponsor or participant, visit northamptoneducation.org/triviabee.