How are your murder mystery-solving skills? Take a stab at putting them to work at the Melon Felon Murder Mystery Dinner happening this Saturday, October 23 at the Fallon Convention Center to benefit the Churchill Animal Protection Society. Doors open at 5:00 p.m., with the play and dinner beginning at 6:00 p.m.
Attendees at this week's Rotary Club meeting got an undercover scoop from Janis Wood, CAPS board president, and Kimmy Bradshaw, CAPS board treasurer/secretary, assisted by Zip Upham who was in attendance. Upham described the Melon Felon as a bespoke play written specifically for CAPS, where diners have to figure out who did it and how. The setting for the play is the Cantaloupe Festival, where there is a cantaloupe tasting contest that becomes hotly contested. Cantaloupe trophies are the thing, with the Director, the Treasurer, several other community members, and a very self-important MC, all involved in the mystery. Upham jokingly said, “I won't be the MC in the play, that's not me. But I will be at the dinner, and if for no other reason than to correct any misinformation that people walk away with about the Cantaloupe Festival. Just saying. With the murder mystery and the silent auction, it makes for a very fun evening.”
The first part of the mystery begins at 6:00 p.m. when the salads are served. Dinner will be served during a break in the play and will be a choice of Chicken Piccata or a vegetarian Pasta Primavera, carrot cake for dessert, after which the mystery will begin again. Wood said, “Everyone has a card, and you have to pay attention and watch for clues to determine who the murderer is.”
Bradshaw provided a CAPS update in addition to introducing the Melon Felon event. She said CAPS was founded in 1986 by 12 members of the community, is 501(c)3 registered non-profit whose mission is to find forever homes for dogs and cats in their care by making sure they are healthy, spayed or neutered, and current on their vaccinations. “We are a no-kill, full placement facility, meaning that pets stay there until they are adopted. The longest stay was 10 years.”
CAPS takes care of about 110 dogs and cats at a time. They have 20 indoor/outdoor kennels for the dogs and 10 floor-to-ceiling kennels for the cats, plus a quarantine room. So far this year, they have adopted out 140 pets and took in 159. Bradshaw also talked about their SNAPS program, where they help to spay and neuter pets for low-income families. “We've helped 80 pets for 2021 so far, and provided pet food to another 23 families. We receive help from the military, the JROTC, and the Boy Scouts all-volunteer out there too. We even have kids doing community service.”
Bradshaw discussed how they also rescue animals from the Fallon Animal Shelter, which can only keep pets there for three months after which they either go to CAPS or get euthanized. Wood said, “If an animal at the shelter is on the verge of that and hasn't been adopted, we rescue them if we have room.”
Bradshaw told the attendees, “We have five paid employees, an Executive Director, and six board members plus we have received 4,500 hours of volunteer services so far this year which is how we got so much done.” She said they have some large benefactors including the Dave and Cheryl Duffield Foundation and Maddie's Pet Project, plus they receive donations from Chewy, and Churchill County, and through Amazon Smile and Facebook. Their largest fundraisers are the Kissing Booth, which gave out kisses at this year's Cantaloupe Festival, the Bark in the Park 5k run, their annual Garage Sale which raised almost $7,500 this year, and the annual dinner. Wood said, “We did the Labor Day parade this year too, but we had the blow-up animals on the float instead, as they fare better in the heat than the real ones. We had a blow-up Dalmatian too, but the Fire Department was right behind us and they stole him to ride on their truck. And now, he graces the Fire Station.”
Tickets for the event are $50 each, or a table of six for $275 and can be purchased at CAPS, The Grid, Jeff's Copy Express, and the Family Pet Connection, or at the door if there are still some available. For more information about pet adoptions or the Melon Felon fundraiser, contact CAPS at 775-423-7500 or visit their facility at 5894 Pasture Road.
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