[Viewfinder] Swarm of Contestants at 9th Annual Gran-Bee

In the end, the Incredi-Bees (Jamie Ranicar, Gary Ebersole and Maura Borsecnik) emerged from the pack - er swarm - to win the 9th annual Gran-Bee hosted at Friday evening.

A total of 81 people formed 27 teams of three to take part in one of the most popular fundraisers for the Granby Education Foundation, which raised about $8,000 from the event.

As Lindsay Fetzner wrote last year, all of the proceeds from the competition benefit the education foundation, and funds go into the foundation’s general fund. From the fund, annual grants – community mini-grants and arts endowment grants – are given to the community.

Clad in humorous costumes - the Zom-Bees (Glenn Cusano, Cathy Gilmore and Dan Schultheis) shambled away with the top prize for the best get-ups - the teams were divided into five different rounds and answered trivia questions ranging from literature to pop culture.

The questions included the following: In what Shakespearean play does Shylock appear? (The Merchant of Venice); What is the largest herb? (the banana); What is the capital of Saudi Arabia? (Riyadh); and What color is the black box on a commercial airliner? (orange).

The winning team of each round (called a swarm) advanced to the finals (the Incredi-Bees, the Pollinators, the Drummer Bees, the Drones and last year's champion, the Bee S's), with the Incredi-Bees taking home the, uh, honey, or, in this case, the trophy and three six-month memberships to the Farmington Valley YMCA).

The Mistress of Ceremonies was “The Entertaining and Beautiful” Carolyn Taylor, while the event was judged by Board of Education member Jenny Emery, Superintendent of Schools Alan Addley and Principal Robert Gilbert.

The also donated a free two-week summer camp session as a silent auction item.

Check out the photo gallery to see the bees.

[Correction: The original article stated that there were 17, not 27, teams. The Granbys Patch regrets the error.]