Murder Mystery event taps local rumrunning history

No one in town knows a better yarn than Chris Jennings.

The owner of Jennings Yarn & Needlecrafts, a fixture on First Street for more than a half-century, is spinning a yarn in the literary sense these days, coordinating the plot for La Conner’s Second Annual Murder Mystery event set for March 23.

Chamber of Commerce Director Mark Hulst credits Jennings with weaving the thread that ties together “The Case of the Bumped-Off Bootlegger,” a throwback to the 1920s Prohibition era of rumrunners and speakeasies, among the more colorful chapters of La Conner area history.

Tickets are available online and at the La Conner Visitor Center.

“The story is fictional,” said Jennings, “but it’s based on local history.”

The scenario for this year’s murder mystery centers on the discovery downtown of a murdered rumrunner, one of several bootleggers known to sail from here to Vancouver Island by night and return with illegal liquor.

Those taking part in the 1920s-based whodunit will begin their investigations at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 23. All will be provided detective kits complete with tools to solve the mystery.

Participants will interview suspects, gather clues, sift through evidence and identify the guilty party.

Nine actors portraying suspects in the mystery will walk around town in period costumes, interacting with the sleuths, Jennings said.

The cast includes Jennings’ daughter, former Weekly News reporter Nicole Jennings. She portrays Bonnie McClyde, the murdered rumrunner’s female squeeze.

“She can often be found drinking cocktails and dancing the Charleston at the town speakeasy, which her boyfriend supplies with liquor,” according to a release posted last week on the Chamber’s Love La Conner webpage.

In her own post, Jennings says she’s excited to play McClyde. Sleuths might want to investigate the depth of her loyalties to the deceased.

In addition to the storyline and costumed actors, other plans are afoot to turn The Way Back Machine to the Roaring ‘20s for this murder mystery.

Chris Jennings said she hopes other merchants will dress in Prohibition period attire.

“I’m also going to try to get a hold of Rick Dole and see if we can get some of vintage vehicles downtown that day,” she said.

This year’s murder mystery will build on the success enjoyed by the inaugural event in 2023, which Hulst recently told town council members drew dozens of “cosplayers” (costume players) eager to put their crime-solving skills to the test.

The 2024 murder mystery here is part of a series of special events this spring designed to promote La Conner in a fun and positive way.

And all, he said, are invited to get in on the act.