Who fed Coco Geaherdelli the chocolate that killed her?
Was it Warren Peeze? Daryl B. Moretacom? Ima Goodwen? Or was it another Langley character?
That’s the mystery to be solved this coming weekend in Langley.
“Death by Chocolate” is the title of this year’s Murder Mystery Weekend event and just as it has happened for the past 23 years, the unfortunate, unsuspecting victim has met an untimely and suspicious demise.
Experienced Langley sleuths all agree that it’s the number one reason to be in Langley for the last weekend in February.
“It’s to die for!” claims Saranell DeChambeau, one of the Mystery Weekend writers.
The Langley Chamber of Commerce’s Mystery Weekend is the granddaddy of “whodunits” with players coming from as far away as England and suspects coming all the way from the mid-west. Local residents only have to travel as far as downtown Langley to join in the fun.
With the recent addition of several chocolate themed businesses — a chocolate shop and chocolate bar, a chocolate candle manufacturer and a chocolate themed nursery and gift shop — chocolate will certainly be plentiful throughout Langley during the course of the two- day event.
Each year is a unique and originally crafted story with twists and turns that provide fun for all ages.
“Seeing kids and their parents having fun trying to solve a mystery we created out of whole cloth is satisfying in the extreme,” said Mike Hill, one of the Mystery Weekend writers and co-owner of Violet Fields, a gift shop in downtown Langley.
Creative locals Loretta Martin, DeChambeau and Hill spend months crafting a mystery that will confound amateur sleuths.
This year’s chocolate theme has created opportunities for an even larger cast of local characters with a plot involving cheerleaders, kids sports teams and the friendly Northwest slug. The mysteries are written to appeal to families with tough clues for the adults but silly enough to entertain kids.
Any one is eligible to play sleuth in this game of clues. Just stop by the Langley Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Information Center office at 208 Anthes Avenue in Langley starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 24. (Entry forms are available between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 24 and 25.)
For only $5 you can purchase a passport to two full days of entertainment. A clue map with the annual edition of the Langley Gazette will put detectives on the trail of potential suspects. There are photos of the motley crew of suspects who will be roaming about town, a crime scene to investigate and a coroner’s report with breaking news.
Through Saturday and Sunday you’ll investigate the town of Langley and interrogate the suspects as you try to determine which shady character actually did the deed. Be careful! Information deduced from shop keepers or other characters on the street may not necessarily be reliable information. The real killer is among the suspects you are interviewing so watch out where you’re led!
On Sunday, when you have determined “who dunnit,” bring your solution back to the “Anthes Mystery Headquarters” — the visitor’s center — to enter the drawing for prizes after the mystery solution is announced at 4 p.m. at the Langley Middle School.
For further information call 221-6765, stop by the Langley Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Information Center or visit www.langleymystery.com.
