Mystery dinner promises hair-raising experience

By Kate Hayden, editor@charlescitypress.com

Big hair is back with a vengeance.

The Totally 80’s! Totally Murder! Murder Mystery dinner arrives with a bang on Feb. 24, and it’s not your average annual Chamber of Commerce meeting.

Less than 75 tickets are available for this year’s event, Charles City Chamber organizers said.

“This is the second year we’ve done it as a murder mystery dinner. We get a lot more community engagement,” Events Coordinator Emily Garden said. “It’s not very business-y, which is great.”

After a larger-than-anticipated turnout in 2017, this year’s event will be held at the Floyd County Youth Enrichment Center. The event will be catered by Dave’s Restaurant, and diners can enjoy themed cocktails and a silent auction beginning at 5:30 p.m. A prime rib dinner and entertainment begins at 6:30 p.m.

This year, organizers hope to draw 250 enthusiastic participants to the event.

“They had an overwhelmingly positive response. The public enjoyed doing something unique to the area, and it was really fun to get something different into town,” Garden said.

This year’s mystery participants will find themselves at a 1980’s concert, where the lead singer is suddenly murdered — and it’s up to the crowd to find out who’s behind the deed.

“It’s like a live Clue,” Garden said, referring to the popular murder mystery board game and 1985 movie.

Participants are strongly encouraged to dress to the 1980s theme. Tickets are $30 for Chamber members and $35 for non-members.

“The more they engage with it, the more fun they will have and the more fun the crowd will have,” Garden said. “We are just excited to see people out and enjoying the evening.”