Port Orchard plans a weekend of skullduggery

Port Orchard’s third annual Mystery Mystery Weekend, slated for Sept. 6 and 7, will create a fantasy environment that challenges participants to solve a crime and win prizes.

“We have a lot of activities planned,” said Mallory Jackson, a downtown merchant who is helping to organize the event. “We will have a weekend of piracy, swashbuckling, derring-do, treasure-seeking and murder.”

Jackson, along with former Mayor Kim Abel, has authored a script for the event. Titled “Who Killed the Cap’n,” the pirate-themed interactive drama begins with a staged murder for participants to solve.

Jackson said there are 13 to 16 parts, which require the actors to wander through town in pirate uniforms and answer questions posed by the participants.

These questions are drawn from clues left with local merchants.

The plot involves the two most fearsome pirate ships in the Puget Sound, the Carlotta II and the Admiral Jack, who have pitched up on the small island of Kitsap to presumably avenge the murder of Captain Kline, or possibly try and find his treasure.

The pirates are not alone, though. Also on Kitsap Island are the natives, plus miscellaneous persons including a Royal Navy officer, a Spanish grandee and the local governor and his daughter.

What are they doing there, and what are their real motives?

While the event is meant as entertainment, it has a serious purpose — to get people to come to downtown Port Orchard and have a good enough time to want to return.

Aside from the mystery enactment, several other pirate-themed activities will occur during the weekend.

These include a race, costume contest (both human and pets) and a fundraising costume ball.

Jackson said the prizes have not yet been determined, nor has whether there will be one large prize or three small ones.

They will, however, be substantial — possibly free stays at local hotels or other items of value.

In the meantime, sponsors are recruiting locals to portray the characters in the pirate drama. Jackson said they need not be professional actors, but will have to be able to play their role in a convincing way.

They also must be free to rehearse as well as commit themselves to appear during the entire weekend.

Jackson said there will be entry fees for most of the events, and that anyone who wants a shot at solving the mystery will have to pay $10. There will be no charge to observe the action.

For more information call the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce at (360) 876-3505 or visit www.portorchard.com.

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