Murder for a good cause!

Colonel Mustard. In the billiard room. With a knife.

You KNOW how much fun it is to play a rousing game of Clue. And who could forget the campy movie of the same name?

But let’s be honest: Haven’t you always wanted to play the game for real, with in-the-flesh humans, actual murder weapons and honest-to-gosh real rooms, instead of cards, a board and plastic baubles?

On Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31, your wish will come true.

“Murder at the Grove Hotel” is a real-life (well, almost) murder mystery you and your friends can solve, “just like a game of Clue,” said organizer Wendy Maple. Here’s how it works: there are different suspects — a maid, a bartender, event host, former Grove employee, a sports rep and the hotel manager. And, just like in the board game, there are a variety of murder weapons and locations.

But Murder Mystery at the Grove has a delicious little twist: clues about whodunit will be scattered around the hotel in the form of cryptograms and it’ll be up to the guests to find the clues and solve the mystery.

“People aren’t going to be just sitting at their tables,” Wendy said. “They’ll be all over the hotel.” And, “we will actually have a body.”

Not to worry, the body will be a live one, Wendy said, laughing. And, in the end, the evening will be great fun for a good cause — The Wishing Star Foundation. http://www.wishingstar.org/

Wendy first got involved with the organization that grants wishes to sick kids when daughter Jessica became a volunteer. But then, after what at first seemed like a minor concussion, 19-year-old Jessica was diagnosed with Grade Two Astrocytoma (brain tumor). “She went from being a volunteer to being a Wish Kid,” Wendy said.

Now 20 years old, Jessica has had two surgeries and is recuperating. She’s in chronic pain and it will be another seven years before they can say she’s in remission. Last March, after Jessica’s second surgery, the Wishing Star Foundation granted Jessica’s wish for a spa weekend in Coeur d’Alene. That’s when Wendy started hatching the murder mystery idea.

“This particular chapter really concentrates on the Pacific Northwest, so the money stays local,” she said. And, unlike other wish organizations that stop granting wishes at 18, Wishing Star grants them for kids up to 21 years of age. “It’s really nice to be a part of this organization,” Wendy said.

Besides the murder mystery/scavenger hunt, the fundraising event includes hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, dessert auction and prizes for best costume and best team name (CSI Boise anyone?). Plus, if you get a little spooked, the hotel is offering a special “deadly room rate” of $69.

Murder at the Grove Hotel — an evening of murder, mayhem, fun, food, libation — to support the Wishing Star Foundation
The killings start at 6 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 31 — HALLOWEEN!
$60/person; $450/teamof eight
Get tickets for “a lethal evening:” 870-2089 or 412-2992

Good concert, good cause

„Oh, give me ahome, where the buffalo roam…“

If you want to give a helping hand to your furry bison friends, plan on going to a concert at the Visual Arts Collective, 3638 Osage Street Wednesday. Tatanka 2009 is a benefit for the Buffalo Field Campaign. Along with a presentation from BFC’s co-founder Mike Mease, there will be rip-snortin‘ music from The Netson Family, The Magnetics, La Knots and Urb.

A little more about BFC: It‘s the only group that actually goes out in the field, everyday, to stop the slaughter and harassment of Yellowstone’s wild buffalo. Volunteers from around the world defend buffalo on their traditional winter habitat and advocate for their protection.

BFC daily volunteer patrols stand with the buffalo sunrise to sunset, on the ground the buffalo choose to be on, and document every move made against them. They run patrols from cars, skis and snowshoes to protect buffalo outside the park, communicating via a network of hand-held radios. Tactics range from video documentation to nonviolent civil disobedience.

For more information about BFC, go to: