A murder mystery event was hosted on Oct. 30 by The Association des Francophones et Francophiles du Nord-Ouest (AFFNO). The event was hosted at the Hirsch Creek Golf & Winter Club and it was a fundraiser for AFFNO.
The event brought a unique cast of characters together as they attempted to unravel the mystery of who killed Captain Stubbing. All characters were played by actors and actresses from northwest B.C. Buck Rogers, Wilma Deering, Turanga Leela, Captain James Kirk, Ellen Ripley, Jamie-Marie Sommers and Han Solo all found themselves travelling the galaxy on a ship when suddenly the captain was murdered. The only one who knew who killed Stubbing was of course the captain, but with him gone it was up to the audience to solve the mystery.
Solve the mystery they did with one single table of people getting the question of who killed Stubbings correct. There were three acts where the audience got to better know the motivations of each character. Characters accused each other and questioned where everyone was at the time of the murder. Following all the clues being laid out, the audience got to talk amongst themselves at each table and make a guess at who murdered the captain. A prize was given out to the table that did make the correct guess that the Bionic Woman Jamie-Marie Sommers killed the captain.
“It was great fun knowing in advance that I was the killer and having to create a convincible French bionic woman. No one in the cast knows who the murderer is, except the murderer. So, it was even more difficult practicing my part at home because Dr. Evil is my real-life brother. Even he didn’t know who the murderer was,” Jaime-Sommers, the Bionic Woman and murderer, played by Prince Rupert’s Emmiline Millar, said.
Her reasoning was simple — the late captain hated robots and cyborgs and being bionic she fell right into that category.
Prizes were given out throughout the evening that included door prizes of books, gift cards and other items. A dinner auction was also held that saw a variety of deserts being live auctioned. This included a cake created by Joanie LaPointe that was auctioned off for more than $110. A 50/50 draw was also held as a way to help raise money. There was also a prize given out for the best costume at the event as people were invited beforehand to dress up as their favourite science fiction character. Caroline Collins who was dressed up as Princess Leia carrying around a tiny Yoda took home that prize. When questioned about how the event turned out AFFNO staff agreed it was a success.
“Really good, it’s the first time we’ve never done one in Kitimat. Prior to the pandemic, we’ve done nine of them in Prince Rupert and it kind of built. I know, I believe, we had between 50 to 60 people that bought tickets to attend tonight,” Patrick Witwicki, Executive Director of AFFNO.
The previous murder mystery events had been held in Prince Rupert but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it had to be moved this year and instead was hosted in Kitimat.
“I’m so happy we’re back in Kitimat and I would love to see more events in Kitimat,” said Danielle Dalton AFFNO president.
AFFNO previously operated from Kitimat but in a change of staff decided to move its office to Prince Rupert. Witwicki echoed the sentiment of Dalton saying he also wanted to see the event return to Kitimat following the success of this one.