Latest / Reality Writes / Ashland Mystery Fest 2026—Your Complete Guide to the 4th Annual Festival

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Ashland Mystery Fest 2026—Your Complete Guide to the 4th Annual Festival · Reality Writes

0:05
Ellie Alexander: Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of Reality Rights.
0:09
Ellie Alexander: I am author Ellie Alexander.
0:11
Ellie Alexander: This is the podcast where we talk about all things bookish, writer-ish, and we try to peel back the curtain in terms of what it's like to be a professional mystery writer, to be a reader, to be a tech guy in the world, because I'm here also with the tech guy.
0:25
Tech Guy: That's right.
0:26
Tech Guy: And it is sometimes difficult to be a tech guy for your author.
0:31
Ellie Alexander: Right?
0:32
Tech Guy: There's a lot, there's a lot going on right now, but I'm super excited about the topic today.
0:38
Tech Guy: Um, this is probably my favorite event of the year that's coming up soon.
0:44
Tech Guy: Real soon, actually.
0:46
Ellie Alexander: Real soon.
0:48
Ellie Alexander: That's right.
0:49
Ellie Alexander: We're gonna talk today about the Ashland Mystery Fest because we have just launched the full ticket package as well as the event schedule.
0:59
Ellie Alexander: And we want to take you through some changes that are gonna happen this year, some new additions, what to expect from the festival, all of those kind of questions.
1:08
Ellie Alexander: And I have put together a list of questions that readers have asked me about Ashland Mystery Fest as well.
1:14
Ellie Alexander: So um, yeah, I can't wait to dive into it.
1:18
Tech Guy: That's right.
1:19
Tech Guy: And since this will be the fourth annual Ashland Mystery Festival, um, I'd love to hear from the darlings out there who have been to the Mystery Festival, the Ashland Mystery Festival over the years.
1:32
Tech Guy: So if you have, click that send us a message link in the show notes and let us know what kind of time you had.
1:38
Tech Guy: Hopefully it was awesome.
1:41
Ellie Alexander: Hopefully it was awesome.
1:42
Ellie Alexander: Yeah.
1:42
Ellie Alexander: I want to hear, darlings, like what your favorite parts are, what you are looking forward to coming back again.
1:47
Ellie Alexander: But before we do that, let's do a refresher for anybody who might be new to reality rights or to my writing or Ashland Mystery Fest.
1:55
Ellie Alexander: And I will take you back to the inception of the concept, which is basically a fully immersive, cozy weekend in the charming hamlet of Ashland, Oregon, that is, I kid you not, so incredibly gorgeous and stunning at fall.
2:12
Ellie Alexander: It does feel like you're stepping onto a set of a Hallmark movie or you're entering the pages of a cozy mystery.
2:19
Ellie Alexander: Am I exaggerating?
2:20
Ellie Alexander: No.
2:21
Tech Guy: Not no, not exaggerating at all.
2:24
Tech Guy: Um we have lived there.
2:26
Tech Guy: We lived there for over six years, and that's when the Mystery Fest was born.
2:32
Tech Guy: Um the Bake Shop Mysteries, your Bake Shop Mystery series is set there, and the reason it's set there is because we love Ashland.
2:41
Tech Guy: We do.
2:50
Tech Guy: It is just it is just that kind of place.
2:54
Tech Guy: You are first of all, as you you know, to pick up on what you were putting down there, it is stunning in its beauty, but it's also just a lovely town.
3:07
Tech Guy: People are kind, it is very community focused, it it is a small place.
3:14
Tech Guy: So for the darlings out there who don't know about Ashland, Oregon, it's a town of under 25,000 people.
3:21
Tech Guy: Um it is home to Southern Oregon University, and it is just one of the coolest places on earth.
3:30
Ellie Alexander: Southern Oregon University and OSF, Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
3:35
Tech Guy: I was leaving that for you.
3:38
Ellie Alexander: You're like, and you know, this tiny little theater company that's not just like the biggest repertoire theater company in the United States that's doing shows year-round.
3:48
Ellie Alexander: Yeah, no, it's so true.
3:49
Ellie Alexander: So the way the festival came to be is that over the years I've had so many darlings message me, email me, reach out when they are coming to Ashland for the first time because they've wanted to see the places that have inspired the Bake Shop Mysteries.
4:03
Ellie Alexander: And I am always thrilled to be Ashland's tour guide and ambassador and give you suggestions of places where you should go, give you a little walking tour of all of the spots where I imagine Tort and Pucks and the dreaded Richard Lord's Merry Windsor Inn would be.
4:20
Ellie Alexander: And that really evolved into this incredible partnership with Travel Ashland and the business community and so many other partners in town to build a cozy mystery reader-centric festival.
4:35
Ellie Alexander: And this is a point of differentiation.
4:37
Ellie Alexander: We've talked about it on this podcast before, but I always like to bring it up, especially like I said, in case somebody's new and you might be considering coming.
4:44
Ellie Alexander: This is very reader-centric.
4:46
Ellie Alexander: So it's immersive.
4:48
Ellie Alexander: Not only do we want you to feel like you are in a cozy mystery for the weekend, but you're going to spend time with other readers, with all of the writers in attendance, with the business owners in town.
5:00
Ellie Alexander: Like it is really about building community, which I think is so important right now in the age of AI.
5:07
Ellie Alexander: And I'm thrilled that for the last three years and now going into our fourth year, so many of you have been willing to come and be part of that community and really build something that is such a joy to be part of.
5:21
Tech Guy: So much fun.
5:22
Tech Guy: And I have been super impressed by the number of people who are return attendees every year.
5:31
Tech Guy: Uh and not not just readers, but the authors who want to be part of it year after year after year.
5:38
Tech Guy: Talk a little bit about the authors.
5:40
Tech Guy: Let's let's do that.
5:41
Tech Guy: Let's let's move on to who's who's going, who are they going to be rubbing elbows with?
5:46
Ellie Alexander: Yeah.
5:46
Ellie Alexander: Well, and so that that is another point of differentiation because at some of the big mystery writing conventions and conferences, you have hundreds and hundreds of authors in attendance, which is fantastic and its own lovely beast.
5:59
Ellie Alexander: But because of the size of Ashland, like you mentioned, it's a town of less than 25,000 people.
6:04
Ellie Alexander: We can really only have about 14, 15 authors.
6:08
Ellie Alexander: And so every year I invite a group of authors that I hope represent a whole diverse set of stories.
6:17
Ellie Alexander: So you're gonna read everything that is still cozy.
6:20
Ellie Alexander: We're not, this isn't a dark, like true crime, as much as like I love other aspects of the mystery genre.
6:27
Ellie Alexander: This is really focused on that idea of like entering into a cozy village for the weekend.
6:31
Ellie Alexander: So we have cozy adjacent writers coming, but usually it's everyone within the spectrum of the cozy.
6:37
Ellie Alexander: But what's been so fun over the last decade or so is that the cozy's really expanded and it's opened up.
6:42
Ellie Alexander: And so it's fun for me to get to hopefully introduce darlings to some new debut writers every year, some writers that you already adore and are familiar with, and everything in between.
6:53
Ellie Alexander: Um, and so this year we have an incredible lineup of authors coming.
6:58
Ellie Alexander: Um, starting off, we have Mia Monensala, who was a returning author from last year.
7:04
Ellie Alexander: She writes YA and these fantastic uh food-centric cozies.
7:10
Ellie Alexander: She's coming from Chicago.
7:12
Ellie Alexander: Hannah Dennison is returning again for a second year.
7:15
Ellie Alexander: Uh, she writes these charming countryside UK mysteries, and she is coming again from England, which is so incredible.
7:25
Ellie Alexander: Erin Scott is joining us again.
7:28
Ellie Alexander: She is a Seattle-based writer and she has multiple series, and she's a former uh teacher.
7:34
Ellie Alexander: And so she's gonna do a lot of, not a lot, but she's gonna do workshops for younger writers and for any darlings out there who might be working on younger writing as well, which is super fun.
7:46
Ellie Alexander: Ellen Byron's coming back again.
7:48
Ellie Alexander: She has a multiple, multiple series, including her vintage cookbooks, her Cajun series, uh, she has a new Golden Motel mystery series.
7:58
Ellie Alexander: She's a delight and such fun.
8:01
Ellie Alexander: And you cannot like help but be caught up in Ellen's orbit once you meet her, right?
8:07
Tech Guy: No, yeah.
8:08
Tech Guy: I mean, that's true of all the authors, but definitely there are a few like Ellen and a few others you're about to mention too.
8:15
Ellie Alexander: Yes.
8:15
Ellie Alexander: Okay, so then we have Lee Hollis coming back.
8:18
Ellie Alexander: Yes.
8:18
Ellie Alexander: Lee Hollis is the pen name for Rick Coop.
8:20
Ellie Alexander: Rick was a Hollywood writer and then started partnering with his sister to write Cozy's together.
8:26
Ellie Alexander: Um, and he has so many great stories of writing for shows like The Golden Girls and Scooby-Doo.
8:33
Ellie Alexander: Scooby-Doo.
8:34
unknown: Scooby-Doo!
8:35
Ellie Alexander: I know it was great last year at the mystery dinner because it was a um costume theme, and so there were so many Vilmas in attendance.
8:44
Ellie Alexander: One of the Vilmas in attendance last year was author Esme Addison, who's coming back.
8:49
Ellie Alexander: She's coming from Raleigh, North Carolina, and her series all have this lovely touch of mysticism and mermaids and museums.
8:58
Ellie Alexander: I love her writing because I feel like it's like a modern-day Indiana Jones with this touch of magic.
9:04
Ellie Alexander: We have uh our last returning author who's coming back again is Gretchen Rue.
9:11
Ellie Alexander: Gretchen lives in Canada, so we've got international authors in Hannah and Gretchen joining us.
9:16
Ellie Alexander: And Gretchen is prolific.
9:18
Ellie Alexander: She writes multiple series under multiple names.
9:21
Ellie Alexander: Um, and she's just such a delight to have joining us.
9:25
Ellie Alexander: Coming new this year is author Jen McKinley, which I know many of you darlings are probably already familiar with.
9:33
Ellie Alexander: Jen has been writing for many years.
9:35
Ellie Alexander: She has multiple best-selling series, including um a new, well, she's doing so many new things, but she's doing new rom-coms, she's doing new cozies, she's doing fantasy mashups, and she has Paris is always a good idea, a Hallmark movie coming out at the end of this month.
9:53
Ellie Alexander: Um, so I don't know, we might have to find a way to like sneak and go have a viewing party at some point.
10:00
Ellie Alexander: Um, Catherine Burns is coming from uh the East Coast, and she writes multiple series as well.
10:06
Ellie Alexander: Pretty much everybody in this cozy world is writing a lot and a lot of series, uh, which we'll get into.
10:12
Ellie Alexander: She has um a lot of food writing and some mainstream mysteries as well.
10:17
Ellie Alexander: Then we have Michelle Choinard, who's coming from San Francisco, and I read her um first Cozy Adjacent.
10:26
Ellie Alexander: I would say this is kind of like um right in the middle of mystery, uh a serial killer's guide to San Francisco.
10:32
Ellie Alexander: It is so funny.
10:33
Ellie Alexander: It was such a romp.
10:34
Ellie Alexander: And then I wanted to go do the whole serial killer to work.
10:38
Ellie Alexander: Now, these are not dark, this series, but the fun fact about Michelle is she also does write very dark stuff too.
10:45
Ellie Alexander: So she's gonna be fun to have on panels to talk about like what it's like to balance both sides of her writing.
10:50
Ellie Alexander: And then we have two debuts this year: Matthew Green, who is a playwright and a screenwriter, and his debut, There's no murder like show, murder.
11:00
Ellie Alexander: There's no murder like show murder.
11:02
Ellie Alexander: I want to sing that, uh, came out last year.
11:04
Ellie Alexander: I read it in like a weekend and um couldn't put it down.
11:08
Ellie Alexander: And then our last but not least debut author this year is Kim Griswold, and she writes this fun caravan mystery series.
11:15
Ellie Alexander: She is currently living in Ashland, so she's gonna have lots of insider information to share with us.
11:21
Ellie Alexander: And I know she just signed for a new project.
11:24
Ellie Alexander: So yeah, it's a great lineup.
11:26
Tech Guy: It's a great lineup.
11:28
Tech Guy: And to reiterate what you said about this being an immersive conference versus or festival versus some of the mystery conferences that uh that readers go to.
11:39
Tech Guy: Just for anyone out there who hasn't attended before, you're going to see the authors in and around town.
11:44
Tech Guy: Yeah.
11:44
Tech Guy: Ashland is not a big place.
11:46
Tech Guy: And so when you're not in a panel or uh, you know, attending some sort of activity that's related to the festival, you might be in line getting coffee at one of the many amazing local coffee shops and be standing right behind Jed McKinley.
12:03
Tech Guy: Or Ellie Alexander.
12:04
Tech Guy: Uh, you never know.
12:05
Tech Guy: Um, but it is a it is a great opportunity for readers to really get to know the authors that they have known and loved, uh, you know, whose books they've known and loved over the years.
12:19
Tech Guy: And it's such a fun way for readers to connect to.
12:23
Tech Guy: And we've had so many readers connect over the last three years of doing this festival who've become lifelong friends.
12:30
Tech Guy: I think we even have some, like maybe romantic pairings that have happened.
12:37
Ellie Alexander: It's true.
12:38
Ellie Alexander: It's true.
12:39
Ellie Alexander: I mean, I can't divulge it's a secret, but I I do have some insider information that a love connection might have been um, you know, there might have been a meet cute that happened at Mystery Fest.
12:50
Ellie Alexander: So my goal at some point is we need a mystery fest wedding.
12:53
Ellie Alexander: I mean, come on, that has to happen.
12:55
Tech Guy: That's right.
12:56
Tech Guy: So if you're a cozy mystery reader and you're single, come to the Ashland Mystery Fest and you'll find love.
13:02
Ellie Alexander: It's really a dating conference.
13:03
Ellie Alexander: No, no, it's not.
13:05
Ellie Alexander: Um, no, it is really by design because to your point, the other thing that I love about that is it's the same for writers.
13:13
Ellie Alexander: Like I love to get to actually spend quality time with readers too, and like bump into people as I'm walking in the streets, or you know, you're sharing a table at dinner together and all of those kinds of things that don't necessarily get to happen on that kind of scale consistently at some of the bigger conferences.
13:31
Ellie Alexander: Now, this year we have two new additions.
13:34
Ellie Alexander: Um, we have an event MC, Allison Victoria Wolf.
13:38
Ellie Alexander: She joined us last year and she is so great.
13:41
Ellie Alexander: She was um on The Worst Cooks of America and she won it.
13:47
Ellie Alexander: Um, and so she has some fantastic stories about being on a reality TV cooking show, which is how we connected in the first place.
13:54
Ellie Alexander: But this year we're inviting her back and she's gonna be the MC for the entire weekend.
13:58
Ellie Alexander: So she'll be there at all of the panels to, you know, make sure that you feel welcomed and greeted and have games and giveaways before things start.
14:07
Ellie Alexander: And um we'll kick off the panel and our panels and just sort of be a touch point throughout the weekend.
14:13
Ellie Alexander: And then as the festival's growing and changing, um, not changing, but like expanding a little bit, the goal for me is to always have somebody that's cozy adjacent.
14:22
Ellie Alexander: So we continue to build out this world.
14:24
Ellie Alexander: And so this year we landed on inviting two cozy audiobook narrators.
14:30
Ellie Alexander: So we have Megan Kelly and Shannon Nicole Lockheed who are joining us.
14:35
Ellie Alexander: And they are both audiobook award-winning narrators who um have done, I mean, I think collectively, hundreds of cozy books.
14:44
Ellie Alexander: So it's gonna be really fun to get their perspective on what it's like, not only from um the writing perspective, but also for readers, like what goes into narration and how do they do that process?
14:55
Ellie Alexander: And um, I'm so I'm very excited to include them this year as well.
14:59
Tech Guy: Yeah, and you mentioned that the Ashland Mystery Fest has changed or is changing, and and that is true over the years, and we can say that now because we're going into the fourth year of having the Ashland Mystery Festival, the fourth annual Ashland Mystery Festival.
15:15
Tech Guy: And it has changed.
15:16
Tech Guy: Uh it was born out of an idea that you had that a lot of people have worked on over the the past three years plus to make it come to fruition.
15:28
Tech Guy: But it started very small.
15:31
Tech Guy: It was like it, it was the the first sets of panels were in the conference room at the Ashland Library, which if you come to the Ashland Mystery Festival, you have to go to the Ashland Public Library.
15:44
Tech Guy: Yes, I do.
15:45
Tech Guy: Amazing, amazing view.
15:47
Tech Guy: Go up to the second floor, grab a book, go up to the second floor, grab a chair, and you'll find one of the best reading spots you've ever seen in your life.
15:56
Tech Guy: But Ashland Mystery Festival quickly outgrew the capacity of the library and is now down at the Ashland Armory, which is an amazing venue.
16:08
Tech Guy: And I would say more than the capacity is more than tripled in size.
16:14
Ellie Alexander: Yeah.
16:15
Ellie Alexander: Yeah, that's right.
16:16
Ellie Alexander: So yeah, that was a change last year, and we're building that even more this year.
16:20
Ellie Alexander: So the opening reception will kick off everything on Thursday night.
16:24
Ellie Alexander: The festival officially opens Thursday, October 8th.
16:27
Ellie Alexander: I will circle back to that in a second.
16:30
Ellie Alexander: Um, but it officially opens on Thursday with a welcome reception, and we already have some fun things planned.
16:36
Ellie Alexander: You'll meet all of the authors that night, have some fun bites, some festive drinks.
16:41
Ellie Alexander: You'll get all of your totes and your merch, and um, there will be a mystery that you will have to solve that will kick off that night.
16:48
Ellie Alexander: And then all day Thursday, or no, all day Friday and Saturday, we'll have key flagship panels at the Armory.
16:56
Ellie Alexander: So all of the big panels will take place at the Armory, as well as a very full schedule of events that will take place all throughout town.
17:05
Ellie Alexander: So some smaller pop-up panels, places where you can meet the authors, haunted walking tours, teas.
17:11
Ellie Alexander: We're adding escape rooms this year.
17:13
Ellie Alexander: I mean, it's it's a very robust schedule.
17:15
Ellie Alexander: In fact, every time I look at it, I'm like, how are we putting this many events into four days?
17:21
Ellie Alexander: And then everything will wrap up again on Sunday morning at the armory with a goodbye breakfast.
17:29
Ellie Alexander: Um, so it's really kind of like a hub.
17:31
Ellie Alexander: This year, we're adding some coffee and water stations because we learned from you, darlings, that those of you who have attended in the past, you really like a place to go hang out and kind of be central if you're popping back and forth between other events around town, which is great.
17:48
Ellie Alexander: The ticket prices include all of those things that I mentioned.
17:52
Ellie Alexander: So they include the opening reception, the closing reception, all of the key panels around or at the um armory, as well as the panels that Ashland Mystery Fest is putting on around town and fun events at like Paddington, where you get to go and we'll have like fun coffee tastings and that kind of thing.
18:08
Ellie Alexander: But we are also for the first time this year adding something new, which um has been requested by a lot of readers, and that is day passes.
18:18
Ellie Alexander: So we'll be selling individual day passes.
18:21
Ellie Alexander: So you, if you are only able to come all day Friday or all day Saturday, you can buy tickets just for that day and come to all of the panels and events for one day, which I think is really nice.
18:31
Tech Guy: That is really nice and giving people options because it while Ashland is a lovely place, um, it is not Los Angeles or Seattle or you know anything.
18:43
Tech Guy: Flying into Ashland is, you know, you got to go to Medford and and uh make your way down to Ashland.
18:50
Tech Guy: But what I want to go back to one thing you were talking about.
18:52
Tech Guy: You said we had talked about it on the this podcast before, but w what you just described is exactly one of the things that I think is so incredible about Ashland Mystery Festival, and that's that all of this stuff doesn't just take place in the same room.
19:06
Tech Guy: The panels are in the same place, uh, which is nice because you know where you're going for the panels.
19:12
Tech Guy: And and so if you're if you're just there for the panels, you can just go for the panels.
19:15
Tech Guy: But here's a pro tip: don't just go for the panels.
19:18
Tech Guy: There's a lot of other stuff happening, and it takes place at some of the coolest spaces around town.
19:24
Tech Guy: And so then you get to see the authors out in smaller, more intimate settings with other readers and get to, you know, experience some of the great businesses and restaurants and things that Ashland has to offer as a part of the mystery festival.
19:40
Ellie Alexander: Yeah.
19:40
Ellie Alexander: And again, that that's really intentional because we want this to feel like you're getting to experience all of Ashland.
19:47
Ellie Alexander: The interactive mystery that I mentioned that will kick off on Thursday night is going to take you all throughout town.
19:52
Ellie Alexander: And that's something you can solve on your own time, but it will take you to Lithia Park and Ashland Springs Hotels and all of the beautiful locations that have been featured in my book, as well as really cool like places that you might not have stumbled upon otherwise.
20:07
Ellie Alexander: And the goal is to immerse you into town.
20:10
Ellie Alexander: And so, yes, the business partnerships that have been born out of this are phenomenal.
20:16
Ellie Alexander: And everyone's gotten on board to do things like fully immersive mystery teas and murder mystery dinners, where we have actors from um the local theaters that are going to be performing a play, a murder play that one of the writers writes.
20:34
Ellie Alexander: I mean, it's just it turns so meta.
20:36
Ellie Alexander: It's great.
20:36
Ellie Alexander: And haunted walking tours, like I mentioned, it's it's totally like there's nowhere that you can go in town throughout these four days and not bump into somebody that is a mystery fest or that there's something not mystery related.
20:48
Tech Guy: That's right.
20:48
Tech Guy: You were going to mention something about the mystery festival starting on Thursday.
20:53
Ellie Alexander: Yes.
20:54
Ellie Alexander: So one thing that we have learned over the last few years is darlings, you are really eager to come and get your mystery fest on, which I absolutely love.
21:04
Ellie Alexander: So last year we noticed uh the armory will open on Wednesday to come actually pick up your badge and your bag if you want to come early.
21:12
Ellie Alexander: And we realized that quite a few darlings were doing that because, like you mentioned, it's not, you know, it's not just a quick trip always to get to Ashland.
21:21
Ellie Alexander: It takes a little bit of effort.
21:22
Ellie Alexander: And because we have such incredible world-class theater and wineries and shopping and all the other things, food, in town, outdoor adventures, darlings started showing up on like Monday or Tuesday.
21:36
Ellie Alexander: And so my pro tip for you, if you're thinking about coming, is and you have time to do it, like book, you know, maybe a day or two early.
21:44
Ellie Alexander: All of the hotels have specials.
21:46
Ellie Alexander: So you can check those out on the Ashland Mystery Fest website.
21:49
Ellie Alexander: There are discount codes for theater shows we ran into.
21:54
Ellie Alexander: We booked our tickets for the cabaret and a show at OSF on Sunday and Monday, because we went early last year and we bumped into.
22:00
Ellie Alexander: Just so many readers where we're like, hey, we're all here already.
22:02
Ellie Alexander: So um it is totally acceptable and okay to extend your stay.
22:07
Ellie Alexander: Again, the official like opening will kick off on Thursday evening, but we've extended some more drop-in and fun events for Thursday, knowing that so many darlings have been bumping up and arriving early.
22:22
Ellie Alexander: So, for example, um, there's gonna be some crafter noons, there's gonna be book bedazzling.
22:30
Ellie Alexander: I'm gonna do a pop-up early on Thursday.
22:32
Ellie Alexander: So there will be a lot of free events on Thursday that if you're gonna be here early, you will have mystery events to do if you're interested.
22:41
Ellie Alexander: These are all sort of like pre-festival kickoff.
22:44
Tech Guy: Totally optional, but definitely worth it.
22:47
Tech Guy: Exactly.
22:48
Tech Guy: You mentioned world-class theater, and I do want to go back like I was j joking when I left them out at the beginning of the podcast.
22:56
Tech Guy: But the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is no joke, world-class theater.
23:02
Tech Guy: And it is what really put Ashland on the map and has been some of the most famous actors, whether it's theater or who have gone on to do TV and movies and everything, have done shows at OSF.
23:16
Tech Guy: And uh the theater quality there continues to be just amazing.
23:21
Tech Guy: We were just there a few weeks ago and saw Emma.
23:23
Tech Guy: So for the darlings who aren't familiar with Ashland, if you Google it, the city of Ashland, Oregon, I guarantee you the first picture that comes up for Ashland will likely be a nighttime photo of the Elizabethan theater uh at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival at OSF.
23:41
Tech Guy: Um absolutely stunning to see a production there at an evening performance.
23:48
Tech Guy: So if you have the opportunity and you do come in early for the mystery festival, I would highly recommend it.
23:54
Tech Guy: You can look them up uh on the web.
23:56
Tech Guy: I think we have links on the uh the Ashland Mystery Festival website to OSF.
24:00
Tech Guy: And because they've been an amazing partner for the festival too, and it is so worth it.
24:07
Tech Guy: They have several venues, they do shows at at they have multiple theaters, but the Elizabethan is the outdoor theater and it is fantastic.
24:15
Ellie Alexander: Fantastic.
24:16
Tech Guy: Yeah, yeah, absolutely incredible.
24:19
Ellie Alexander: Well, on that note, I thought I would give darlings a little teaser.
24:22
Ellie Alexander: So uh while I said that the official kickoff starts, the welcome reception starts Thursday, October 8th at 4 p.m.
24:29
Ellie Alexander: So that's when the festival really kicks into high gear.
24:32
Ellie Alexander: But things will start as early as 10 a.m.
24:35
Ellie Alexander: on Thursday morning when there is a haunted Ashland walking tour, and it's gonna start at the Peerless Hotel and end at the OSF Elizabethan Theater uh theater, and you're gonna get uh stories about all of the hauntings around Ashland and the ghosts at OSF.
24:51
Ellie Alexander: Um, I'm gonna do a special tea at Lovejoy's.
24:54
Ellie Alexander: There are afternoon matinees at OSF, and then that afternoon there's gonna be Book Bedazzling and Crafternoon with the authors.
25:03
Ellie Alexander: In addition to OSF, the other great theater that is right there, walkable in town, is the Oregon Cabaret.
25:11
Ellie Alexander: And um, they always do a mystery in October.
25:14
Ellie Alexander: I have set many books at both OSF and at the Oregon Cabaret.
25:19
Ellie Alexander: And uh this year they're doing Dracula, a comedy of terrors, which I cannot wait to see because I think it's gonna be a delight.
25:29
Tech Guy: Absolutely.
25:30
Tech Guy: And I was going to mention the Oregon Cabaret too.
25:33
Tech Guy: It's uh near and dear to my heart.
25:35
Tech Guy: We've seen so many great shows there.
25:37
Tech Guy: Um, just fantastic theater.
25:39
Tech Guy: Uh and they serve dinner too.
25:42
Tech Guy: I do.
25:43
Tech Guy: Yeah.
25:43
Ellie Alexander: So you can do dinner.
25:45
Ellie Alexander: You don't have to, though.
25:46
Ellie Alexander: You can also our what we often do if we have other events going on during the day is we will uh go early just a little bit before the show because then you can order dessert to get it at intermission.
25:57
Ellie Alexander: But their dinners are fantastic too.
25:58
Ellie Alexander: So if you want dinner and a show, like you can just do the whole package.
26:02
Tech Guy: And there's there are three words you need to remember if you're going to the Oregon cabaret, darling.
26:07
Tech Guy: So if you're coming to the Ashland Mystery Festival or not, if you're just visiting Ashland, Oregon, go see a show at the Oregon Cabaret and remember these three words.
26:17
Tech Guy: Dick Hay Pie.
26:19
Ellie Alexander: Dickie.
26:20
Tech Guy: Dick Hay Pie.
26:22
Tech Guy: You that is the dessert you want.
26:25
Ellie Alexander: I don't know.
26:25
Ellie Alexander: I've had some of their dessert specials, which are also good.
26:28
Tech Guy: The specials are good, but they usually do a special version of the Decay Pie that's related to whatever show they're doing too.
26:35
Tech Guy: So it is uh that is another fun place.
26:38
Tech Guy: I mean, we don't have enough time in this podcast to list the amazing places around there.
26:43
Tech Guy: I I would challenge somebody, even though Ashland is a small town, you even if you come into town for four or five days for the Ashland Mystery Festival, there is no way that you're going to be able to experience all the restaurants, all the coffee shops, all the bars, all the craft breweries, all of the shops.
27:02
Tech Guy: Um, it is just, it's an amazing, amazing place.
27:06
Ellie Alexander: Yeah, which is why I think it's so great that we're sort of building out these early events for anyone wanting to come early, because you could.
27:13
Ellie Alexander: You could go do a whole tour of Jacksonville or Rogue um wineries.
27:18
Ellie Alexander: Like there, there's just a plethora to do and to see while you're in town.
27:23
Ellie Alexander: In terms of some housekeeping stuff, as I mentioned, regular festival tickets and individual day pass tickets are on sale now.
27:30
Ellie Alexander: In addition to all of these events that we've been talking about, there are some flagship dinners that happen.
27:37
Ellie Alexander: So this year, they're all taking place at Ashland Springs Hotel.
27:41
Ellie Alexander: And we'll have two dinners that are these immersive mystery dinners where we'll have actors and somebody might die at dinner and you have to solve it and you're all part of it.
27:50
Ellie Alexander: Those will be taking place at Ashland Springs.
27:52
Ellie Alexander: And then we will have our key flagship dinner on Saturday evening, also at Ashland Springs Hotel.
27:59
Ellie Alexander: And every year there's a different theme.
28:01
Ellie Alexander: Those tickets are going to go on sale sometime in later August or early September.
28:06
Ellie Alexander: So don't panic, those are coming.
28:08
Ellie Alexander: The hotels just work out like the menu and the details on that.
28:13
Ellie Alexander: But those are all still happening, and that will be a separate ticket if you're interested in doing either of those.
28:18
Ellie Alexander: Every year, what we've done is we'll have a flagship panel on Friday where everybody builds a mystery together live.
28:27
Ellie Alexander: And then the authors who are on that panel read the final mystery at dinner on Saturday night.
28:33
Ellie Alexander: And it is hilarious and so incredible with the storylines that you all come up with together.
28:40
Ellie Alexander: It's a riot.
28:41
Tech Guy: It is, yeah, definitely.
28:42
Tech Guy: And the costume-themed dinner for those who are going to Mystery Festival and choose to get a ticket to that.
28:50
Tech Guy: Be sure you go back and listen to the other episode on the Ashland Mystery Festival we did earlier this season, where I give the pro tip about trying your costume on before the night of the event.
29:02
Tech Guy: Um, trust me on that.
29:07
Ellie Alexander: Well, uh, that is like a perfect setup for me to share one other final detail about this year.
29:12
Ellie Alexander: And every year that dinner theme has changed.
29:16
Ellie Alexander: And this year's theme is should we have a drum roll?
29:19
Tech Guy: Oh, you dropped it on me.
29:22
Ellie Alexander: I meant you could just do like I I can't do that, but I can do the sound effect.
29:27
Tech Guy: Here you go.
29:31
Ellie Alexander: Masquerade.
29:33
Ellie Alexander: We're going to have a masquerade dinner.
29:36
Ellie Alexander: This dinner is where an author will host you.
29:39
Ellie Alexander: And so we last year, I think we usually had like eight to ten readers at a table with an author, and sometimes with an author and the tech guy.
29:47
Ellie Alexander: And uh, we have a full three-course dinner together, and uh it's gonna be epic.
29:54
Ellie Alexander: I already have Sky Guy planning my mask.
30:01
Tech Guy: Wait, he's planning my mask.
30:04
Tech Guy: Uh-oh.
30:06
Ellie Alexander: Yes.
30:06
Ellie Alexander: So think masquerade theme.
30:08
Ellie Alexander: This kind of goes along with like the Dracula, and it's like a little bit of a moodier theme this year.
30:14
Ellie Alexander: You can dress to the nines if you want, and you you don't have to, of course.
30:18
Ellie Alexander: Um, but it's gonna be fun.
30:20
Ellie Alexander: I can't wait to see what darlings bring in terms of costumes.
30:25
Tech Guy: That that's an important point, though.
30:26
Tech Guy: That the Ashland Mystery Festival is it's laid back.
30:30
Tech Guy: It is friendly, it is welcoming, it is inclusive.
30:35
Tech Guy: So do what you want.
30:36
Tech Guy: Yes, go all out for a costume, buy a dollar mask at the dollar store.
30:43
Tech Guy: It it is completely up to you.
30:45
Tech Guy: Um, but it is fun to see everybody's costumes, none, you know, nonetheless.
30:51
Tech Guy: Ashland has a a strong Halloween costume history.
30:56
Tech Guy: Uh, so this will be super fun.
30:58
Tech Guy: It is always fun to see what the creativity of readers I know.
31:02
Ellie Alexander: I'm already plotting.
31:03
Ellie Alexander: Okay, and then to uh wrap up our mystery fest episode, I have a quick uh rapid fire round of questions that come up pretty consistently from readers that I want to go over.
31:15
Ellie Alexander: First one, it tags to your point right there.
31:18
Ellie Alexander: Is it walkable?
31:19
Ellie Alexander: Do I need a car?
31:20
Ellie Alexander: The answer is no, you don't need a car.
31:23
Ellie Alexander: You, if you're flying into Medford, um, or if you're like driving or taking a train or something like that, you will need a ride, but you can get a lift or you know, a ride share to it's about a 15 or 20 minute drive from the Medford airport to Ashland.
31:38
Ellie Alexander: Once you are in Ashland, everything is walkable in town.
31:42
Ellie Alexander: Um, and the festival is designed to be walkable.
31:44
Ellie Alexander: The armory is just a few blocks away from the plaza.
31:47
Ellie Alexander: Now you're gonna get some steps in.
31:50
Ellie Alexander: And I the other thing about that is it's also accessible.
31:54
Ellie Alexander: Ashland has worked to really build its accessibility.
31:58
Ellie Alexander: And so there are wheelchair ramps, like there are some hills, but there are um elevators and buildings that can take you places too.
32:06
Ellie Alexander: So um, it is walkable.
32:08
Tech Guy: I would like to point out though, for our friends in low places like the Bay Area where we live now, Ashland, Oregon is at 2,000 feet.
32:18
Tech Guy: So while that's not Denver, yeah, I would recommend hydrating, staying hydrated, don't overdo it.
32:26
Tech Guy: Um, thankfully, we do this festival in October.
32:29
Tech Guy: So it should, the temperature should be really mild and extremely pleasant.
32:34
Tech Guy: But nonetheless, if you're not used to elevation, it is 2,000 feet.
32:38
Tech Guy: That's, you know, maybe most of you probably won't feel it, but I just do want to put it out there.
32:43
Ellie Alexander: Yeah, no, pace yourself.
32:44
Ellie Alexander: And it's a great excuse to then to just like walk and get like a nice iced coffee or a lemonade somewhere and take a break and you know, chat with an author.
32:51
Ellie Alexander: Uh, the other question that comes up a lot is can I come by myself?
32:57
Ellie Alexander: I want to come by myself.
32:59
Ellie Alexander: Absolutely.
33:00
Ellie Alexander: We've tried to really continue to build out ways for you to make connections with other readers.
33:05
Ellie Alexander: So we're gonna have reader meetups, we have a few authors who have been in attendance before.
33:11
Ellie Alexander: That author list that I read at the beginning, we really try to balance a rotation of authors who've come two or three times, then with some new authors, and then continue to cycle that through so that there is a group of authors that are then familiar with Ashland too, to be able to be like, oh, okay, I know where Lithia Park is.
33:29
Ellie Alexander: Let me walk you over that way.
33:30
Ellie Alexander: Or, you know, so we have authors who will help facilitate some reader connections.
33:35
Ellie Alexander: And the vibe and the tone of everyone who attends is so welcoming and designed hopefully to make you feel like you're wrapped in a cozy warm hug.
33:44
Ellie Alexander: So absolutely come solo.
33:46
Ellie Alexander: It's safe.
33:47
Ellie Alexander: Um, it's warm, it's welcoming, it's cozy.
33:50
Tech Guy: Yeah, it is very cozy.
33:52
Tech Guy: What are the other questions that readers have all the time?
33:56
Ellie Alexander: The other questions that readers have are things like uh attire, which I think you kind of touched on, not just for the masquerade, but like, do I need to dress up for events?
34:07
Ellie Alexander: You can come as you are.
34:08
Ellie Alexander: Like you can wear a t-shirt and jeans or shorts to a panel, or you can dress up if you're feeling like, hey, I want to, you know, get sassy and wear my cute new book dress that I got or whatever.
34:20
Ellie Alexander: Like it doesn't matter.
34:21
Ellie Alexander: There's no dress code.
34:23
Ellie Alexander: You can definitely come as you are.
34:24
Tech Guy: The clothing is not optional, but the type of clothing is a good thing.
34:28
Tech Guy: Okay, well, yeah.
34:30
Ellie Alexander: You do need to wear clothes.
34:32
Ellie Alexander: Uh uh question that I get asked frequently, and I alluded to this, but it's another good reminder is where to stay?
34:41
Ellie Alexander: Uh, recommendations on where to stay.
34:43
Ellie Alexander: And there is a long list of travel and lodging partners on the Ashland Mystery Fest website.
34:49
Ellie Alexander: So I recommend any of those.
34:51
Ellie Alexander: And they're all also offering specials.
34:53
Ellie Alexander: So that's great because they're supporting the festival by offering us discounted rates on rooms.
34:59
Tech Guy: I have an FAQ that comes up often because this is something that those those who've been to Ashland Mystery Festival have likely experienced this.
35:08
Tech Guy: But those who haven't or haven't been to Ashland in general, there are a lot of deer.
35:14
Tech Guy: And they live in town, just like the people.
35:18
Tech Guy: Don't feed the deer.
35:20
Tech Guy: Don't try to pet the deer.
35:21
Tech Guy: I think you covered this last time.
35:23
Ellie Alexander: I feel like this is a recurring theme for you.
35:26
Tech Guy: It is because I I just want people, they are adorable, and you just want to grab them and squeeze them and hug them and pet them.
35:34
Tech Guy: Don't do that.
35:35
Tech Guy: Don't do it.
35:36
Tech Guy: Don't don't do it.
35:37
Tech Guy: It'll it will end badly for you.
35:39
Tech Guy: Not the deer, but for you.
35:41
Ellie Alexander: No, and you don't want to be in a book.
35:43
Tech Guy: No.
35:43
Tech Guy: And you will be in a book, actually, if if that's there are so many writers in town.
35:47
Ellie Alexander: People will just be like, I got, I got new inspiration.
35:50
Ellie Alexander: Okay, last two is um, can I take pictures at the festival?
35:54
Ellie Alexander: Absolutely.
35:55
Ellie Alexander: Yes.
35:55
Ellie Alexander: Feel free, please take pictures, share, take videos.
35:59
Ellie Alexander: Like that's the best.
35:59
Ellie Alexander: That's how we spread the word and get more readers to come join us for a joyful weekend.
36:05
Ellie Alexander: And last but not least is can I bring books or will there be books to buy?
36:10
Ellie Alexander: The answer to both of those is yes and yes.
36:13
Ellie Alexander: I mean, if you want to pack books in your suitcase or bring another suitcase, go for it.
36:17
Ellie Alexander: If you want to just bring an empty suitcase, you can do that too.
36:20
Ellie Alexander: We have incredible book partnerships with Bloomsbury Books and Paddington and a lot of there are like six independent bookstores just in Ashland alone, and everybody gets in the spirit of the festival.
36:32
Ellie Alexander: And so there will be books by all the authors in attendance there for you, and there will be opportunities for you to get your books signed by the authors.
36:41
Ellie Alexander: And so absolutely feel free to plan to come home with a new stack of books to read.
36:47
Tech Guy: It's up to you whether you buy a new suitcase to complete your haul back home with the books or just go to the Ashland post office and mail them back to your cell.
36:56
Ellie Alexander: Right.
36:56
Ellie Alexander: Yeah.
36:56
Ellie Alexander: Either way works.
36:58
Tech Guy: Is that it for the frequently asked questions?
37:00
Ellie Alexander: I think that's it for the frequently asked questions.
37:02
Ellie Alexander: But of course, darlings, if you have other questions or thoughts or you want to share what the experience has been like for you, like the tech guy said, please uh drop us a line or send us a voicemail, and we can't wait to spend a cozy weekend with you in October.
37:15
Tech Guy: That's right.
37:16
Tech Guy: All right.
37:17
Tech Guy: Until next time.
37:18
Ellie Alexander: Until next time.