It was a ‘Who Dun It?’ last week in Portland as Elites and their guests gathered at the historic and beautifully preserved hotel, Sentinel. In a setting as timeless as the Clue mansion itself, oozing with old-world charm and opulent detail – you have to throw a Murder Mystery Event. Harkening back to the days when mansions had libraries, a drawing room, and even a butler’s closet – the second floor of Sentinel is prime for a ‘murder’ and some sleuthing.
As guests – er suspects, arrived they were greeted with a charming hallway complete with black and white tiled floors and a beautiful high-arched ceiling flanked by rooms where all the action happened.
In the library, delicious bites were abound. Generously catered by Jake’s Catering, the menu for the evening ranged from everything like crisp smoked salmon crostini, endive with a cheesy spread topped with fresh roe to a carving station offering divine cuts of beef tenderloin. To compliment out the savory, the dessert offerings were also a plenty, and just as pretty as they were delicious. Bites of meringue tarts and chocolate mousse paired nicely with the Aria Portland Dry Gin cocktail that shared a room with the impressive dessert spread. Pacific Seafood was also attendance shucking up some sweet, salty, and briny oysters, which paired perfectly with the several drink options.
Speaking of drink options – nationally beloved brewery, New Belgium, was serving their renowned Fat Tire, while local winery, Owen Roe, was educating and keeping guests’ thirst quenched with a red and white option. The white, appropriately titled – Wise Guy, was a hit, as well as their rich and robust red wine options. Aria Portland Dry Gin wowed guests with a refreshing cocktail suitable too cool things down during the suspense of solving a murder mystery!
Creative touches, like the screening of the classic, Clue amidst tables adorned with the actual board game, and a selfie photo-booth with crime-scene props really rounded out the event’s theme; however The Murder Mystery Company is what truly completed the evening. Starting with a ‘murder’ at the beginning of the evening to taking guests through an exciting ride through imaginative character stories, theories, and alibis – guests were invited to participate and put their inner detective up to the challenge of solving a murder. Participants in the case investigated ‘suspects’ amid the evening’s merriment of imbibing, mingling, and noshing that eventually led to a murderer and a successfully solved case!
But guests didn’t just leave with an eased mind now that there wasn’t a murderer on the loose, there were also awesome raffle winnings to be had! Gift certificates to Jake’s Grill and Sentinel events, like their New Year’s Eve Governor’s Ball to bottles of wine donated by Owen Roe – we had a lot of lucky winners. And every guests got to go home with a fully-stocked Yelp schwag bag, too. Read all about and view the pics of the suspenseful, sleuth-y fun here.
This unforgettable evening couldn’t have happened without our incredibly generous event sponsors: Jake’s Catering, Sentinel, Pacific Seafood, Owen Roe, New Belgium, Aria Portland Dry Gin, and The Murder Mystery Company.
