The Horseshoe Diner is once again hosting a Murder Mystery Dinner. This time, it is partnering with Homefront Heroes Portage County, a non-profit organization that honors and supports local veterans with fundraisers, to host a Bash at 250 West Main Street on Oct. 24 at 6 p.m.
“The Horseshoe Diner has always supported the veterans especially those that are in need,” Owner Woodi Goodnight told The Weekly Villager on Sept. 3. “We try to not only feed them but also help them get the assistance they need from whatever organization out there that can help them with their needs.
The show will be a Murder Mystery that occurs during a sock hop, and all attendees are encouraged to dress up in 1950s attire. Tickets are still available for $50 per person or $80 per couple. Goodnight said that he is still working on the menu but expects the main dish to consist of fried chicken & pulled pork.
It marks the second time this year that the Horseshoe Diner is hosting a Murder Mystery Dinner, as The Villager previously reported that it had partnered with the Ravenna Area Chamber of Commerce to hold a Murder Mystery Dinner on Valentine’s Day earlier this year.
According to Goodnight, the first Murder Mystery Dinner was so well received that he decided to put on another one this year. He credited City of Ravenna Councilman Paul Moskun of Ward 1 for collaborating with him to host a fundraising event on behalf of the Homefront Heroes Portage County organization.
The Diner will once again enlist the services of the Murder Mystery Company performers, an event planning company from Detroit that hosts Murder Mystery Shows based to perform again in the Horseshoe Diner’s Event Hall.
The Diner will hold a 50/50 raffle, a gun raffle, and a basket raffle during the evening. Goodnight said that it will set up a stand at the Memorial in front of the Portage County Courthouse and give away free S.O.S. dinners to anyone interested. S.O.S. dinners are military dinners that members of the armed services enjoyed during World War II and will be over the Veteran’s Day holiday weekend from November 10-12.
“Last year we did about 300 and we want to expand that, and we have a couple of other groups that are doing it with us this year,” added Goodnight.
Goodnight said that the Diner’s second Murder Myster Dinner of the year is expected to reach more people, as Homefront Heroes Portage County is not only local to Ravenna but the entire county.
“Homefront Heroes is drawing from the whole county, and we will probably also have people from Cuyahoga County and Summit County,” he noted.
Goodnight emphasized the fundraiser on behalf of Homefront Heroes Portage County is the latest example of the City of Ravenna’s patriotic pride and dedication to the veterans. Portage County was just recently designated as a Purple Heart County on May 28, and the Organization held a ceremony recognizing all residents of Portage County who are veterans of the armed forces.
“They give transportation to veterans that need to get around, they come in here once in a while and they will have birthday parties for veterans that are shut-in, they will bring them in here and veterans will show up and have a birthday party so I think their reach is far and wide,” he added.
Goodnight spoke glowingly of the appreciation that not only the City of Ravenna, but Portage County itself brings to honoring all veterans.
He noted that his goal is to make Murder Mystery Dinners a quarterly tradition in the Ravenna soon, but Goodnight also said that he wanted to broaden the Diner’s reach.
“Not only am I looking to help non-profits, but I am also looking to help businesses in town,” he said. “At the RACC Chamber one, I know for a fact that people went out of here and went to at least two or three different establishments that were open. I am not only looking to help the non-profits, but I am also looking to help downtown Ravenna as a whole.”
