Homicide happening at Huble
Why so many mysteries surround Huble Homestead this summer is anyone’s guess.
The historic house and farm is a living museum but also the site of some murders in the weeks ahead.
No one is actually scheduled to die, these are theatrical frames into which the Huble Homestead’s history is put on display. A little drama and a little comedy brings modern fun to the century-old farm.
The first of these is the season’s Homicide on the Homestead performance happening Saturday. Twenty guests will arrive in character and in costume to join the museum’s staff in a progressive scenario right out of an Agatha Christie story.
Humble Homestead’s program manager Nicole Krizmanich describes the summer play. It is 1945 and wealthy matron Anna Mae Tate has sponsored a travelling group of actors to come to Prince George and perform for the men staying at the army barracks. Already reeling from the loss of their lead actor, Gordon Yates, the acting troupe of Parker’s Players wants nothing more than to leave the city, but they know the show must go on. Mrs. Tate is hosting a party, and she expects entertainment – little do the guests know that somebody among them has murder on the mind.
“What we’re doing with our murder mystery events is moving ahead through the decades each time, so for this one we are set in the 1940s, which was a very interesting time in this area because of all the military troops posted here during the war,” said Krizmanich. “In this case it is extra interesting for our participants because it starts with a murder that’s already happened from the start, but then another murder is going to happen.”
When participants join these murder mysteries at Huble Homestead, they have an online discussion that helps decide who gets which character, what that character should wear, and some of that character’s backstory.
“I love how into it our participants get,” Krizmanich said.
“They do a great job working on their costumes, and they do their homework on the characters they’re going to play. We typically have couples and small groups of friends buy into the mystery. We have a lot of repeat customers, so people are getting to know each other over the years, but often, too, people are strangers to each other, but they come together for this. They really make it their own and take it to a whole different level.”
These events start at noon and take place until about 4 p.m. inside the historic house and garden, which are closed off from the rest of the public during the show.
During the event, the mystery unfolds through scripted dialogue and spontaneous conversations that reveal the tidbits of the story imbedded in each character. Each participating character is given some facsimile money and they use that amongst themselves to blackmail, bribe and purchase key bits of information.
And of course real food is served, in rounds of appetizers and dessert, to the delight of the enthusiasts-turned-actors.
Prizes of different kinds are handed out for different elements of the event, everything from best costume to accumulating the most “money” to best performance.
There is one prize that has never been handed out. One person in the group is the murderer. The others close in, little by little, as the story unfolds, while the guilty character tries to be crafty about avoiding suspicion (within the rules of the live-action game they are all playing).
“We have never had anyone get away with it,” Krizmanich said. “There is a prize for the murderer if they complete the day and no one figures them out. Who knows? Maybe this will be the one.”
It is already a sold out event, but another one – more elaborate and larger in numbers – will happen on Sept. 16. Participation spots will go on sale in August via the Huble Homestead Historic Site website.
For those who love a good mystery and can’t wait for the next edition of Homicide on the Homestead, the Huble cast and crew are holding a casual Sherlock Saturday event on June 23. These have become popular days at the rustic site with its roots planted in the Victoria era. Everyone who buys admission that day can join in the fun for no extra charge.
“Sherlock Saturday is designed to be a self-guided event with our staff sprinkled around the site to help you out as you go,” said Krizmanich.
“You’ll solve puzzles and discover clues that move you on to your next destination and you’ll get prizes at the end.”
This is the third time the Sherlock detective theme has been put to use at the Huble Homestead. The format is similar each time, but each concocted mystery is different so past participants still have just as much fun as newcomers.
The one puzzle not yet solved is why Huble Homestead seems to be such a fertile garden for growing mysteries. These events are among the most popular things that happen there, year after years.
“Perhaps it’s the personal bias of the staff coming out, because we all enjoy a good murder story and escape rooms and solving puzzles,” she said.
“But some of it has to do with history itself which always has an air of mystery. You never know the full story, and it demands to be explored. We do that with documents and artifacts and oral accounts, which all has a kind of investigation-ness about it. And history always has an air of story, and who doesn’t love a good mystery story? It all fits together.”
Discovering where Huble Homestead is located can be easily solved. Travel north of Prince George past Salmon Valley, turn east onto Mitchell Road, and follow that pastoral lane all the way to the parking lot where visitors are welcomed to the picturesque farm on the banks of the Fraser River where the unique Giscome Portage has its landing and a collection of buildings (a blacksmith shop, the Seebach General Store, barns, gardens, etc.) all show how local life when the 1800s turned into the new 20th century.