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Mystery dinners fund BGCCC summer camps
BGCCC members learn about goats during Farm Life 101 class at Sonridge Farm in 2018.

Love a good mystery? Think you could solve a crime faster than Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot? If so, mark your calendar for Saturday, March 30, 2019, and make plans to attend the Boys & Girls Club of Cleveland County's (BGCCC) Murder Mystery fundraiser dinner at the Don Gibson Theatre in uptown Shelby.
"This is the eleventh mystery dinner that we have hosted, and we always have a great turnout," says organizer Susan Allen, who is also a BGCCC board member. "People laugh and have so much fun that they can't wait to do another one."
And folks don't have to wait long because the Boys & Girls Club hosts two murder mysteries a year - one in the spring and the other in the fall.
"It is an enjoyable evening," says Allen. "People have a good meal and then try to solve the mystery, which has members of the audience participating as suspects."
Each Murder Mystery has a different theme such as a wedding party, a golf outing or an ugly Christmas sweater party. This spring's theme is titled "Of Sound Mind & Dead Body," and involves the death of a magician.
"People really get into their roles, and it is always fun to see how all the clues come together," says Allen.
Funds raised from the Mystery dinners go to support the BGCCC's outdoor experiences for kids every summer. As kids participate in the Jack & Ruth Schweppe Summer Day Camps at the BGCCC Main Club and Teen Center, they learn about the outdoors, some through participation in SonRidge Farm Camp in Kings Mountain or the Camp Rockmont in Black Mountain. Other outdoor summer activities include kayaking down the Broad River and hiking the trails at Crowders Mountain or South Mountain State Parks.
Children who attend the SonRidge Farm Camp get to learn about life on a farm by interacting with animals, making a pizza with goat cheese, or participating in a goat show. The students work on their writing skills as they record a daily blog narrating the events and experiences of the day.
"Most of the kids at the Club are from Shelby and may not have had the experience to camp out, visit a farm or tube down a stream on a summer afternoon," says Josh Propst, BGCCC executive director. "Through fundraisers such as the Murder Mysteries we can make these amazing experiences available to the kids. They learn about nature and where food comes from, and they just enjoy being outdoors doing something different. To me, seeing a kid feed a baby goat or sing a song as they hike on a trail is worth the effort to raise funds to make these opportunities happen."
Doors open for the March 30 production at 6 p.m., and the meal and mystery begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 per person and may be purchased at the BGCCC, (412 W. Sumter St., Shelby), at the Don Gibson Theatre or by contacting Susan Allen by calling or texting 704-564-7532.

By April Hoyle Shauf, Special to Community First Media


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