Was it the butler? Or did the maid do it? Or perhaps it was the chauffer? The historic Marland Grand Home mansion, located at 1000 E. Grand Ave in Ponca City, is presenting a new and intriguing event for its guests this fall. On Friday, October 4, 2019, the site will host a 1920s “Who Done It?” mystery crime activity. The “Case of the Missing Oklahoma Buffalo Painting” will be an interactive fundraiser whereby guests collect clues and solve a mystery.
Who Done It? Someone abducted Mr. E.W. Marland’s favorite buffalo painting created by legendary artist Emil Lenders. During the early 1900s Lenders moved to the 101 Ranch to stay awhile giving him the opportunity to paint buffalo and other various Wild West scenes. Mystery guests will investigate the strange case of the stolen “Oklahoma Bison” painting, one of E.W. Marland’s favorite works of art. While at the grand mansion visitors will meet seventeen different real life characters from the Marland era telling their story. A guide will escort small groups though the home to tour existing rooms and peer into hidden spaces. Each character will disclose an important clue relating to the crime. Guests will then record these clues on a small detective’s tablet. By the end of the tour the visitor detectives will tally their clues to unravel the mystery. They will present their findings to the Ponca City chief of police in the last room, the Library, and receive a reward for the evidence gathered disclosing who done it. During the finale guests will also receive a certificate of honor for their service to the force.
The small group tours will begin at one of the following start times: 7:00 p.m., 7:15 p.m., 7:30.p.m., 7:45.p.m., and 8:00.p.m. in order to stagger attendance and last approximately one and a half hours. Limited tickets will be available for $20 each at the Marland Grand Home, the Marland Estate and the Ponca City Chamber of Commerce as supplies last. The event includes traversing stairways and also writing down clues. Walk-up tickets will be available at the door the night of the event if space allows for $25 each. For more information on the mystery crime tour or the Marland Grand Home, call 580-767-0427.
...
