Library offering murder mystery, Amazing Race
A murder mystery, escape room and countywide Amazing Race contest are already on tap as part of the Holmes County District Public Library June slate of activities being offered to adults.
For weeks and months, many people have been waiting to get into the Holmes County District Public Library.
However, on three upcoming evenings, folks will seek a way out of the library, so to speak, when the library hosts an escape room and murder mystery as part of its summer activities series.
In addition, the library will present an Amazing Race-style event that will send teams all over the county seeking clues to garner prizes.
The summer series is a welcome return to normalcy for the library, where the staff has patiently waited for the day they could see people walking through the front door without having to give notification.
“It will be exciting to finally see people in person rather than through Zoom meetings. That’s for sure,” said Christina Thurairatnam, head of reference and adult services at the HCDPL main branch in Millersburg.
The escape room/murder mystery events are set to take place Monday, June 7, 14 and 21 at the library. This event, created for adults, will require registration, and sign-up slots are available at both 6 and 7 p.m.
“We wanted to add a new twist to the escape room, so we also made it a murder mystery to add to the evening,” Thurairatnam said. “Instead of trying to escape the room, groups will be trying to solve a murder before time runs out.”
The Holmes County Amazing Race event will take place Saturday, June 19 at 11 a.m. and also will require registration.
This scavenger hunt, based on the popular television show, “The Amazing Race,” will begin at the library and send participating teams all over Holmes County businesses, where teams of up to five people will have an opportunity to track down clues, follow the path and find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so to speak.
The first team to successfully complete their tasks and return to the library will be rewarded with a $50 gift card to East of Chicago Pizza, where they can go and celebrate their victory in style.
“People will be driving all over the county trying to complete challenges before heading to their next place,” Thurairatnam said. “They may have a choice between doing two different things or figure out where their clue leads them.”
While it is a library event, Thurairatnam said they have worked to team up with a number of area businesses to get them involved in the event. She said it is a win-win for everyone involved because people will stop at some businesses that maybe they haven’t been to before.
“I’m hoping people will actually discover some neat things about these area businesses that they didn’t know before or weren’t familiar with,” Thurairatnam said.
The race will require at least one team participant to have a smart phone so the team can chart its progress. Each team will download an app that will allow them to track their progress. Each team also will need a reliable vehicle that safely seats up to the five participants.
Registration for the Amazing Race will begin June 7, and it will be first come, first serve until all slots are filled.
It should be a fun time of fellowship and exploring Holmes County for all of the participants, and Thurairatnam said the library is excited to kick off its summer session with some fascinating events.
“We’ve got some really neat ideas coming up that should be really enjoyable for both adults and entire families,” Thurairatnam said. “One thing we have really worked hard on is creating a diverse number of opportunities that extend beyond just the reading part of what we offer. These are really fun activities that should be exciting for people.”
July will see the library offer a concert in the lot, featuring Nora Hazlett. That Thursday, July 22 concert will include the food truck, Fickle Kitty. More on that upcoming event can be found as the date draws near.
To register for either of the June events, people can call the library at 330-674-5972 or stop by the main branch on Glen Drive in person to register. To find out everything that is going on at the library, visit them on Facebook or at www.holmeslibrary.org.