by Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative
With dozens of volunteers dressed in period costume, playing characters carefully developed to carry out the plot in this year’s theatrical murder mystery, it is no wonder the Canadian Transportation Museum & Heritage Village (CTMHV) had to add space to accommodate demand this year.
Over the October 25-27 weekend, the Heritage Village transformed into the Town of Blackwood for this year’s murder mystery, “Dead on Arrival.”
In the plot, the character named Arthur just arrived back in town to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Blackwood’s founding. But he was found crushed by luggage at the train station. It was up to the hundreds of sleuths participating in the event to try to figure out who could have committed the crime.
Carter Hodgins stepped in to organize the event this year, as someone who has been involved with the murder mystery for several years. The demand for the event has grown over the years, so the CTMHV extended the traditional two evening, weekend event to include the Friday, as well. That gave plenty of opportunity to accommodate the 650 individuals who preregistered for a session to enjoy the nighttime event.
He noted Education Coordinator Courtney Gregorian, volunteers, and Connor Summerlin collaborated with him to write this year’s murder mystery plot, which required the help of around 50 individuals either stepping into a role or as part of the crew.
Characters in the play are stationed in one of the local historically significant buildings onsite, ready to talk to the participating sleuths. The town gossip characters lead event participants from each session building-to-building to speak with the characters, so they can ask questions and try to figure out who the killer could be. One of the fun aspects of this event is being able to interact with the characters, Hodgins said.
A new feature in this year’s event allowed participants in each session a chance to go back and revisit characters they had additional questions for, after visiting each of the stations. Hodgins said that was very well received.
For volunteer Alexa Dunn, she likes to get involved because it allows residents from all over the region a chance to not only enjoy a Halloween event, but also get to tour the Heritage Village and see inside some of the historic buildings onsite. That is all while raising funds to support the ongoing efforts of the CTMHV.
Representatives of the CTMHV also thanked the Ontario Trillium Foundation for a capital grant that provided for ramps that make the Heritage Village more accessible for events, such as the murder mystery.
To learn more about upcoming events at the CTMHV, or how to become a volunteer, log onto www.ctmhv.com