Rotary hosting murder mystery fundraiser

SANDPOINT — This year’s Rotary Club of Sandpoint gala will be “A Dinner to Die For.”

Quite literally, in fact, as guests will discover the fate of Ben Carey-Deway, well known for hosting lavish soirees at his Great Spatsby Manor. When he is found dead in his study, every dinner guest is a suspect — who is the murderer?

The mystery will be solved during the annual gala event on May 4.

“This year we wanted to change it up a little bit and add an entertainment aspect to it, so we added a murder mystery dinner to to it” said Rotary member and event organizer Ken Wood. “It is a 1930s Great Gatsby themed murder myster dinner theater.”

Rotary hosts a gala each year, and in years past, Wood said, it has been a standard dinner and auction event. With the addition of the murder mystery, there will still be a live and silent auction, dessert auction, live music, a wine wall and more.

For the past two years, the event helped furnish and equip the East Bonner County Library District’s teen room, Wood said. Funds raised during this year’s event will benefit Food for Our Children and support the Rotary Club’s community projects and service, particularly those focused on youth.

Food for Our Children is a nonprofit with the goal of eliminating childhood hunger in Bonner County. Mac Hollan, Food for Our Children board member, said the organization gave out more than 18,000 “backpacks,” which are weekend food bags for children in the community.

“These are kids who are going home with food who otherwise might not have had that,” Hollan said.

And speaking of food, dinner for the event will be provided by Tango Cafe, with appetizers of smoked oyster crostini and crispy pork belly. Dinner will consist of Waldorf salad, ham and gruyere stuffed chicken with spiced apricot rum glaze, scalloped potatoes and asparagus. Themed drinks from the 219 Lounge will be available as well.

The cast of the show includes Dennis Pence, who will play murder victim Ben Carey-Deway. His “wife,” Ginger Bodgers, will be played by Suzen Fiskin, Dr. Gerry Atrics by David Keyes, Nurse Penny Cillin by Dyno Wahl, Minuet Johnson the maid by Cami Murray, Al Cappuccino the business associate by Ivan Rimar, Phil Anderer the politician by Steve Verby, Damien Wurst the artist by Bala Bishop, and Arthur Pollock and Ken Wood as the head detective and junior detective respectively.

The event will be held Saturday, May 4, in the third-floor auditorium of the Sandpoint Business and Event Center, 102 Euclid Ave.

Doors open at 5 p.m., and the show starts at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $100 each and can be purchased online at dinnertodiefor.org. A donation option is available as well for those who can not attend the dinner but would like to support Food for Our Children and Rotary programs.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.