Latest / Reality Writes / Ashland Mystery Festival—3rd Annual Reveal & Details!

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Ashland Mystery Festival—3rd Annual Reveal & Details! · Reality Writes

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of Reality Rights.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: I am author Ellie Alexander.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: This is the podcast where we talk about all things bookish, and I'm here with uh the tech guy.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_03: Hello, hello.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, before we get started, my usual request just hit pause and share reality rights with a friend or loved one.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_03: All right, let's take it away.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: Let's take it away just like that.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: So today we have a super special episode coming at you because today we are announcing the author lineup for the 2020 twenty 2020 20.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: No, the 2025 Ashland Mystery Fest.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: It is now the third annual.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: I can't believe we're going into year three.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's amazing.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I, as always, am just over the moon in terms of the authors who are gonna be joining us.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we have just so much to talk about because we are changing some things up, we're improving things.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm gonna give you all a little teaser of what's to come, as well as we'll talk about the authors and all the good good stuff.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_03: Let me ask you this before we get started.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_03: Like, um, you know, you've written a ton of books, are writing a ton of books still.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and you've been doing this a long time, but did you ever think when you started writing that you would be hosting your own mystery festival?
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: No, definitely.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's a pretty big deal, you know.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, uh let alone your own mystery festival that, you know, brings in like thousands of people.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_03: So that's that's pretty awesome.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's so great.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: And it just speaks so much, I think, to this community, you know.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: And the same is true for the authors who are coming.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: One of the things that uh we've really been intentional about is trying to balance returning authors as well as new authors every year.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: But because of the nature of the festival itself and the size of Ashland.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_03: Just hint, it's not very big.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and just again, like the whole concept behind the festival is that it is reader-focused, immersive, and interactive.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like when you come to Ashland, we want you to feel like you are stepping into the pages of the cozy mystery, which you kind of are.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, this is not a big convention where you're gonna be in one hotel room the whole week and you're gonna stay in that hotel and go from conference room to conference room.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, so there's just not a lot of space to grow how many authors are coming.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but because this is also kind of bootstrapped and all volunteer, like I am volunteering all of my hours.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: I don't get paid for this.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, none of the authors who are coming, you know, they're they're putting in their time.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so there's also this nice piece of having some returning authors who, again, this year are going to take on other roles because it's been such a collaborative process with the team at Travel Ashland um as well.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, that's great.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I mean, this is really the Ashland Mystery Festival is all about like it's a it's a festival for readers, right?
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you know, so like I because I've been to a couple of the bigger ones with you, and readers do get to um meet the authors, but not not not like this.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_03: Like not you're you're not gonna bump into your favorite cozy mystery author while getting ice cream at, you know, yeah, you know, outside or whatever.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's just uh it is really cool in that you are moving around town and you get to experience a really cool town in Ashland and all the great small businesses and and services and you know, sites and everything that Ashland has to offer.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, which is all about that community vibe.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: And again, the concept of stepping into a cozy and um also that like all of the panels and events and workshops that we're hosting, we want that to be really interactive where you darlings are part of it too.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: You're not just sitting and like having information like spit at you.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: You are a part of the process.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, it's super exciting.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, so for starters, should we just talk about who's coming?
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think that's probably uh, or maybe talk about the first like five and then we'll go into a subject because otherwise if you give away the list, then everybody's gonna stop listening.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you'll all be out.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_03: I'm kidding.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_03: Just yeah, no, you can talk about the list.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so for starters, I'm gonna be there.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_03: All right, that's good thing.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the deck guy's gonna be there.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_03: I will be there.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: Again, I I can't, I'm sure darlings are just floored that both of us are coming, but we are.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: We are.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Karina Moss is coming.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, so excited.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: She writes a cheese shop mystery.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: And so uh one of the things that we're doing is thinking about like how we use everyone who's attending in terms of the authors, their stories and their talent.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so there's gonna be a cheese event uh for her.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: I can't give you lots of details yet because all of the event details are gonna be coming in the next month or so.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um Mia Monensala is coming and uh I already have her pegged for doing some delicious cooking demos because her books are just infused with so much wonderful food.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Hannah Dennison is coming all the way from England, which is amazing.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's been a long time since we've seen Hannah.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: Hannah, we used to live very close to Hannah in Portland.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: So Hannah and I used to get together quite frequently.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: So I can't wait to kiss her beautiful face.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Lee Hollis is coming back.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: He was with us last year, uh, and he is just a gem.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Tina Conley is coming and she writes, among other things.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: She writes for um middle grade and uh she has some YA novels.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: She also writes the Choose Your Own Adventure books.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um we have some really fun ideas in store for her, not only for all the adults who are attending, but for any um kids and younger readers who might be coming.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Esme Addison is returning again this year, and I'm so excited because um I only got to spend like a touch of time with her last year because we're all so busy.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I'm trying to be very cognizant of my own time so that I get to spend time um with the authors too.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, she writes uh a number of great cozies, but uh I have her pegged for some witchy panel work.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um Malene Duncan is returning again.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and she's gonna be working on something very special that I will tell you about in a minute.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: Angela M.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: Sanders is also returning, and she is going to be sort of um the hostess with the most just, and we'll talk about that.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: Erin's oh, sorry.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: What did you think?
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, I'm because I'm hearing about all of this for the first time myself.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm just reacting.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: So to all you uh darlings, you can't see, but I have just like pages and pages of notes and reworks um from the last few weeks as we've started to put a rough draft of the event schedule together.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so I just finished it last weekend and I sent it off to the team um to get feedback and and make any potential changes.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I was starting to tell the tech guy about it, and he's like, no, don't tell me because we're gonna report a podcast and I don't want to know.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: So, yes, this is a surprise to you too.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_03: I wanted my reactions to be authentic.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: They are, they are.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Erin Scott is coming.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: She is a prolific indie author um out of Seattle.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's gonna be so fun to have her join um in this year, as is Gretchen Rue.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: Gretchen is coming from Canada, which is so fun.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: So we have two international authors coming this year.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Gigi Pondion is returning again, and um she also has a special task up her sleeve.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and then we're rounding it out with uh Tamara Barry, who um is also going to take on some bigger roles, and Ellen Byron.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_03: That's quite a lineup.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_03: So long authors.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_03: How many is that total?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: 14.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_03: 14 counting you.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: 14 counting me.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then um, we're hoping to rope in um a couple um debut authors who will be coming out and having their first books.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: So that'll be a special event at Paddington.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: And um, yeah.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: Oh cool.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: Cool.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: So excited.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, every time that I like look at the list and know who's coming, I just do like a little happy dance.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's gonna be so much fun.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but okay, so this is the third year of the event.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: As we talked about, it is very reader focused.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we really started from scratch, you know, that first year we didn't even know if anyone would show up.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you all did, darlings, which was amazing.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so every year we want to improve.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: We've taken um into consideration feedback from last year's attendees.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: One really like key thing that's gonna change this year is that um we have the at the historic Ashland Armory for the whole weekend.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: So that will sort of be the flagship place for all Ashland Mystery Fest events.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we'll start with the Thursday kickoff event there, and then we'll do two or three key panels there on Friday, again on Saturday, and then we'll round up the weekend with a goodbye, like breakfast bites event and give away a ton of prizes on Sunday, um, which is great because the capacity there is so much bigger than the other spots in town.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and it has a it's got a legit professional A V system because it's got like the full light setup in the ceiling and everything, because it's where all the bands play when they come to Ashland.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_03: So it's it's a great, it's a great venue.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: I and then it'll just be nice to like have a hub there where you know you can go, you can um get your swag bag when you check in, you'll know that like, okay, that's our spot for key panels.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: We're also streamlining the ticket.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: So your ticket will include everything that's taking place at the armory.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: So it will include the kickoff reception, the panels there, and the goodbye brunch.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: And then um, because the vibe of the festival is that you're also going out and about all around town, there will be lots of other panels and smaller events throughout the weekend.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: Last year we had 59 events over the four days, and um, we're trending to do that, if not a few more, uh, this year, which is mind-blowing, I guess.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's that's a lot of events.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_03: Can I plug businesses?
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_03: Am I gonna get into it?
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, oh, for sure.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely, yeah.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_03: All right, because I just wanted to say for for well, for anybody who went previously, uh either the first two years or somebody who's coming new, when you're walking to the armory, because the armory is not is gonna be it's a few blocks off the like the main plaza in uh downtown Ashland.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_03: Um, it's not far, so don't like don't worry.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_03: But but you're going to be walking past um in my opinion, the but two of the best restaurants in Ashland.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_03: Um okay.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_03: So you're gonna see two houses that have been converted into businesses, and the first is called Ruby's and the other is Gills, and they're right next door to each other.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_03: And you will be you will miss out if you don't stop and sample both of them uh for different reasons.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_03: Like Ruby's, if you want a breakfast burrito, you want to get a like delicious smoothie, hop in there.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_03: Gills, if there's a table open on that patio outside, grab it and then go sample all their craft beer on tap.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_03: Because uh oh, I miss I that is those two places are two of the places I miss most about.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of myths about Ashland, but those are two of the places I miss most.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: When we were living in Ashland, that would be like our Thursday afternoon.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: We'd have like a brainstorming session at Gill's and like go down and plan out like social media and the events and everything with a beer by the fire, like yeah.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_03: It's just uh it's just magical.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_03: I love it.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, yeah.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_03: And some of the nicest people work in there.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_03: It's just great.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and the food is fantastic.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: And we're not getting paid.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: Gills isn't sponsoring this.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's just your humble opinion as to uh so okay, so you're gonna get like one ticket that will get you into all of those events at the armory.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: And then this year we decided because there are so many events throughout town, panels and cooking classes and tea, dinner, and um, we have a lot to talk about in terms of the theater community for this year.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: So all of the other Ashland Mystery Fest panels will just be pop-in throughout town.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to have a separate ticket for it, those will all just be first come, first serve because that'll make things so much easier.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because last year it was like, I know readers were like, okay, I have a ticket to this, I have a ticket to this, I have a ticket to this.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: So all of those will be encompassed in your Ashland Mystery Fest ticket along with the events at the armory.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: And then anything else that's extra, so like the dinners or tickets to a show, um, you can purchase through those businesses.
• 13:41
  unknown: Okay.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're gonna buy tickets to the cabaret show for the weekend, like which I highly recommend.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and they have a mystery, of course, going because it's October.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: So that'll be great.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: So um we'll have events um at the library.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: We've got crafternoon plans, some gaming events.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_03: Did you say crafternoon?
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: Crafternoon, you're gonna love it.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_03: So awesome.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_03: Nice pun.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna put you there because last year somehow I got part of the craft event and I will book.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: I want crafty.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: The tech diet needs to go to this.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_03: That's awesome.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: What am I doing?
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, last year we had events at Peerless Hotel and the library, and so all of those will still be taking place.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Winchester is gonna do, I believe, three murder mystery dinners.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: So there'll be one Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: Saturday night we'll do another big mystery dinner at Ashland Springs.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: Last year we did an Agatha Christie theme, and that was amazing.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, you darlings who came, you brought it for costumes.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: It was awesome.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_03: That's great.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, there were some amazing costumes there.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_03: Um, it was it was incredible.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_03: I felt underdressed for sure.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and each author will host a table, so you'll get to have dinner with an author at your table.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, this year we're going to do another mystery dinner, and uh the theme will be come as your favorite sleuth.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so there are so many ways you can interpret that, and I cannot wait to see what people come up with for costumes.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: I'm already brainstorming, you know.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: Is it Sherlock?
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: Is it some sort of deerstalker and um houndstooth cape?
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: Or is it Miss Marple?
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, yeah, there are so many ways you could go.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, interesting.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_03: Hmm.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna have to start thinking.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: Get on it.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, there are a lot that I could go with, but um, I'll have to come up with something.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, let's see.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: So um hotels are open now in terms of booking.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: So if you are somebody, especially if you're coming from somewhere farther away, um, all of the discount codes for the weekend are up on the Ashland Mystery Fest website.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: Tickets and the event schedule are going to be coming in the next month or so.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_03: Which is Ashland Mysteryfest.com.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: You got it.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and um what else?
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, uh so this is big.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: OSF, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, if you have read and been familiar with my books, uh, is going to stay open.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: So if you are a theater lover, if you've read about OSF in the series and you've wanted to take in a show, this is your chance.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, they will be open the entire weekend, and they are actually going to sort of kick off the festival.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: The festival starts on Thursday, October 16th.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're planning your trip now and you're thinking about when you want to come in, the key event that evening will be the kickoff reception at 5 or 5:30.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: But there are going to be some sort of like early afternoon, um, late afternoon events that are bonus.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: So OSF is gonna do a special tea at Carpenter Hall and talk about ghost stories from the theater, um, and do like a whole interactive um event with readers first to kind of kick off the weekend, which is so cool.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and plays will be running all weekend as well as their backstage tours, which Oh, yeah, I was just gonna ask.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: So cool.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_03: The backstage, you if you get a chance and it's if it's something you're interested in, you should do that.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_03: The backstage tours are really cool to see how they pull it all together.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_03: It's pretty amazing.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um one of the things that we're gonna start the weekend with is that Angela M.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: Sanders, who I said was going to sort of be our ambassador, she's gonna be hosting a happy hour before um the kickoff event for any new readers or readers who are traveling solo.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's been so amazing to see so many readers who have come on their own.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's also fun to see readers meet up with each other.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: So we want to make sure that we're carving out lots of opportunities for anyone who is either coming solo or you just want to meet more people to have time away from sort of the like main events.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: So Angela will be hosting a happy hour Thursday afternoon as a meetup and then some coffees early in the morning before things start for you to just like make some new bookish friends.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_03: That's great.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_03: Do I get a host uh happy hour again?
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, of course.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: Happy hour with a tech guy, you bought it.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe some crap.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, crap beer.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_03: Oh yeah.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_03: Crap beer, right.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, so yes, with crafts.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, anytime I get a chance to expense beer, it's gonna happen.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_03: So there you go.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, I I just think that will be such a nice piece of um just kind of like a touch point, and especially if you're new to Ashland, we're gonna make sure that Angela, Angela's been a few times now too.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: So she has a very good lay of the land, but she'll have resources too.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: If you're like, oh, I don't know where to go to if I need a pharmacy or dinner recommendations, that kind of thing.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_03: No, that's good, that's really good because it it's a small town, but still there's there's a lot to see and do.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_03: And if you're brand new, like you don't want to be worried about where you should go and when where you need to be and all of that.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_03: So that's great.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think another key thing in terms of having OSF and the Oregon cabaret, so you'll there will be like an abundance of theater options, especially in the evening, is um we're we're pulling back on some of the evening events.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: So there'll be a lot of events in the morning and afternoon, and then the dinners, but then an opportunity to go to shows.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: And shows don't start until eight o'clock.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's really nice.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: But if you're a darling and you're coming and you really are thinking you are interested in getting uh tickets to either OSF or the Oregon Cabaret, their schedules are up now.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: So you can do that before you buy tickets to Ashland Mystery Fest.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I kind of recommend that.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I mean that's that's I I would I just want to reiterate that real quick.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_03: Like it it is important if you want to see show because they do sell out, OSF and the cabaret are both very popular.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_03: The cabaret is not a huge venue.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_03: And um the, you know, there were a lot of people I know that were disappointing because they just didn't buy tickets early enough and they didn't get a chance to see the the mystery show uh last year, um which is too bad.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_03: But yeah, so definitely, definitely look those up.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_03: If you if you think you're coming, look those up and and look into the options now.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and we have discount codes that I'll share um for OSF um for anyone who's coming for the Ash on this protest.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: So you can get a discount, which is great.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um one question that came up so much last year is do I need a car?
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: And the answer is you do not.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the festival is designed to be walkable.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: So even, you know, like when you're talking about the fact that the armory is like a couple blocks off the main street, totally fine.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like you're gonna get your steps in, you should bring comfortable shoes um, because you're gonna be going from place to place, but you do not need a car to drive to the different venues at all.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_03: Right, right.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's that's good.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_03: Um a lot of people did ask that last time.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_03: And yeah, they're uh like Uber and Lyft are are allowed in Ashland, but um Ashland is a tiny town, it's 20,000 people.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_03: So this isn't gonna be for those coming in from larger cities like you know, New York, Atlanta, like all of that.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_03: Take you it's not gonna be like right around the corner.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_03: It could be it.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: could be, but it's probably not going to be.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_03: So just yes.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: Well yeah.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_03: Just know that.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um let's see.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we have so many interactive panels planned.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh one of our key events last year tied into the Agatha Christie dinner, which is a build a mystery live.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: And so Tamra Berry and Lee Hollis are going to take the lead on that again.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: We only got to hear a little snippet of the panel where all of you darlings and the authors were putting the story together.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: But then at the dinner um the authors read the story and we were all I mean like crying laughing even with no context to the story would be great.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_03: Well no I the even the the little bit of the panel that we did get to uh experience was just like I we were both just in tears leaving just the the from laughing so hard because the the attendees brought it with their ideas.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_03: It was they came up with some some amazing stuff and and it got dark real quick.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_03: Like the authors had to like the others had to be like no no no no we gotta we gotta dial this back a little bit.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_03: It's this is getting pretty this is getting pretty dark.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: So exactly um the last couple years we've had um sort of an interactive mystery all throughout town uh that you had to go find some posters and solve and and so this year Emmeline is taking on that uh she and I will be working together but she's taking the lead and she's going to create a crime scene that will be there all weekend at the armory um that will give you clues and then you have to go out into the village and uh piece it all together which should be really fun just to see the crime scene and interpret it.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah that's going to be great.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Gigi is going to be writing uh the play for the three dinners at the Winchester and this involves um actors the uh from the Rogue Valley who get hired and they are part of dinner and someone dies and then you as um the dinner guest all get to participate in solving the crime hence the interactive piece.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_03: That's awesome.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_03: Murder mystery dinner.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: Murder mystery dinner.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah I uh I will have so much to share as we finalize the thousands of details that are going to be floating out there.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: As always Paddington Station has been a huge partner and throughout the weekend they're going to do free tastings where you get to pop up and meet one of the authors and then actually taste something from their books, which has been a highlight the entire time.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: They are baking around the clock.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's amazing how much they're producing for the weekend.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know how good it is.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah I I'm I I can't wait to get back to because we haven't been there again since um they took over the space across the street too.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_03: So now they have their flagship store which is always just like you can spend two, three hours in there just and spend a lot of money on what just some of the coolest stuff you've ever seen.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_03: But now they have this the huge like beautiful space across the street um and have consolidated their other two shops into that.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_03: So I can't wait to see what that looks like.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_03: Because we saw the inside when it last year during the festival for your like uh private event but it was like it was empty so they didn't know there's stuff in there yet.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_03: So I can exactly but um you did you said you said you know walk around the village and stuff and I just wanted to take a minute to say like it takes a village to put this thing on.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my god like Catherine and the people at Travel Ashland just like unbelievable like the amount of work that they put into this and the thoughtfulness and just like it like and then all the business owners like you said the the people at Paddington and all the other businesses that participated um it is really like one the I mean we live there so we you know we like the place is very near and dear to our hearts but it is no joke that it is a tight knit community and and everybody gets really excited about this now which is so fun to see because businesses are just over the moon about you know all of the readers that are coming into town and then the readers are just like loving it because of all the great you know shops and restaurants and activities and everything that are available outside of the Mystery Fest.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_03: So now you add that layer on top and it's it's just amazing.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_03: But yeah without without uh all the people um and volunteers that help put this thing on it it it's just it wouldn't happen.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_03: And so it's um I hope everybody has a great time because there is a lot of work that goes into this thing.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_01: There's so much work that goes into it.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: And every year we're trying to level up more last year you know we had the totes and um the name badges and it was so fun to just see people like all around town with you with your little bookish tote in your bag and your badge and you'd be like oh my gosh hi and uh yeah that's really the vibe.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: There's something for everyone uh you can come solo you don't have to have a whole like you can bring your own your entire book club or you can come as a single reader like that is the vibe.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_01: I have like poured intention into this event to be like the bookish heirs tour.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: And that has been the vibe both years.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_01: I mean but honestly like it's a safe like welcoming community um super like we talked about like super walkable.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I just I love that piece of it.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: And really the goal is to make connections with each other as readers but also with writers too that there's not this wall up where you know we're um speaking to you from a panel and we'll never uh you know come down tomorrow like whatever like it's just um it's meant to give you access uh all the way around.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah it was I mean you you made a joke about the Ares tour but it was we did kind of have that Ares tour moment because you know it's about a six ish, six to seven hour drive depending on stops from where we live in the Bay Area in California back up to Ashland and you know there was traffic and we're kind of like excited to get there to help like earlier in the week last year before the festival started to help set up and then we were we were running late because of traffic and so we're kind of stressed and everything and we just we walked into one of OSF's workshop spaces where uh Catherine and and travel and the volunteers had like set up like the check-in area and I got a little teary I was like blown away these like there were just what what was that like a thousand tote bags like it was just the these tables and rows and rows if you haven't seen the pictures on social media you should go back to October on Ellie's accounts and check them out because it was incredible like just all the badges um were just in these perfect stacked card holder things and just I mean it was legit it was like it's it was like it was so great to see like how it had leveled up so I can't wait for this year.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_03: However speaking of badges I would like to request that I get an actual printed badge this year and not not the last minute Scarpy thing that I got last year.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_03: Oh poor tech guy that's quite I know I didn't even think about it it's terrible I just I it was so funny because you you know uh Catherine came up and gave you your badge and everything and and I I looked at you and I said do I get a badge you the look on your face was just like oh no why didn't I not think of that yeah yeah that won't happen again you will have all bad like 10 badges yet I want a I want a big badge I want mine to be like the obscene like like Rose Bowl or Super Bowl badges that you wear where it's just like hidden you in the knees as you're walking because it's ridiculously large like who will make that happen no I don't really I'm gonna make that just as a joke.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my God.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: Great.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah um yes so let's see what else um that is like that's kind of the key overview for now but uh the takeaway for today is go check out the Ashland Mystery Fest website now because all of the author bios and photos will be up.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: I thought it was so fun to hear from readers who uh went one of two ways.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I heard from readers who read everyone's books or like one book, probably not everyone's because that would be literally hundreds of books.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_01: So all of these authors have published multiple titles.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I heard from readers who like read something from every author so that they would have like a baseline of knowledge before last year.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: And then I heard from a lot of readers who were like I just wanted to be surprised and so they would channels or like meet authors at pop ups and go, okay, um there will be books available uh every author's books will be available to purchase while you're there.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then uh again like last year the totes will have all kinds of like merch and um free books and things like that in them too.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_01: So you should pack light um and be prepared to bring books and all kinds of fun stuff home.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_03: Or bring it bring an extra suitcase yeah yeah or bring an extra suitcase yes um do we have time for like one tech guy warning work yeah because you mentioned it's a you mentioned you mentioned it was a safe community to walk around in and everything which it is absolutely Ashland is absolutely do do you worry do not worry the bake shop mysteries are fictional and like 27 people have not died in the last like five years in Ashland or been murdered in the in the last five years in Ashland but um but for anyone who is coming or just visiting Ashland in general um do not do do not try to feed the wildlife because the word wild or is the is the is the key and you you right now you're like I can feel the eye rolling and and everything and like oh yeah tech guy you're just being great no do not because one is I think it's like a well it would like seven years ago it was like a$400 fine I don't know it's probably more than that now but the deer they look cute and docile but if you get close to them they will they'll mess you up so it is not if all you have to do is go on social media and look at the people that try to get a selfie with a buffalo at uh you know the national parks that'll happen to you in Lithia Park if you try to feed a deer so just just look at them admire them from a distance because they you will see them.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_03: There's a lot yeah you can take pictures just don't try to get close and just you don't need a selfie with a deer no one's gonna like yeah if you're gonna take a picture if you want to get a selfie with a deer then you better be prepared to get a selfie in an ambulance because that's gonna like you're gonna get both like it's a twofer.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_01: Although you might actually see them like walking through the crosswalk.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_01: We've had many a sighting where they're like it's like the mom and the babies just trot trot trout on the crosswalk like cross urban pedestrians.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_03: No it was one of one of our very first experiences of being in Ashland was going to the Fourth of July parade which is a huge deal in Ashland and we're all said like it's just you know several thousand people lined on both sides of the street and all of a sudden this giant buck just jumped over the line of people and was standing in the middle of the street and it would just froze and it was like oh no what you know and and and we were all like oh no you know what does it where's it gonna go and and the people just kind of parted and it was like okay and it just kind of slowly walked and just went right across through the crosswalk across the street and on down into the neighborhoods was just and we were like we should move here.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah it's pretty cool.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_01: True yeah yeah that was it that was the reason um okay so the dates to remind you are October 16th through 19th uh activities will kick off in the afternoon on the 16th and they will all be done by noon on Sunday the like you know kind of key events although last year I know like um Lovejoys did some extra teas there will still be evening shows at the cabaret and OSF so if you're wanting to extend and stay for a day or two like feel free.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_01: The last like main event for Mystery Fest will be the breakfast and that breakfast that ends at noon.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: So you know if you're planning your trip thinking that way there are discounts for hotels there's discounts for OSF um those two things you might want to think about booking sooner rather than later because with OSF staying open there are probably also going to be OSF people in town with our Mystery Fest crew.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_01: So um it'll be a busy but buzzing wonderful weekend in Ashland.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah that's right uh and for those looking to fly in who aren't familiar with the area um you're not flying to Ashland Oregon Ashland only has a municipal airport um so it you would fly into Medford Oregon which is just north of Ashland 20 minutes or so um and that is it's still a small airport in itself but it's an international airport so it's uh you'll you'll be able to fly in there and then um uh get there's shuttles that come down to Ashland so where you can take an Uber it's like a truty 25 minute drive depending on traffic it's close.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah and it's a beautiful drive you'll see the mountains and Mount A and probably see some deer.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_01: The only traffic will be if you have to stop for a deer right uh yeah and I know um some darlings extended their stays last year and like took trips to um do wine tasting in the Rogue Valley and go out to Crater Lake.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_01: So there's tons of other things to do in the region.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're coming from afar you might consider you know staying for an extra day or two after the festival um and I can always give you recommendations and there's a treasure trove of information on Travel Ashland's website too.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_03: I was gonna say yeah if you go to ashlandmist.com you'll actually end up on the Travel Ashland website and their their website is great it highlights everything to do in not only in Ashland but in the surrounding area.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's an awesome resource.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yes so um start thinking now come get cozy with us in October it's gonna be gorgeous.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's such a beautiful time of year.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be potentially chilly probably sunny it could rain every once in a while there's been snow you just never know so be prepared.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_03: I know yeah I mean that is kind of the thing of that time of the year you can you it's kind of dealer's choice on the weather um but it's all like Ashland is beautiful no matter what the weather is so it's it's amazing.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yes and uh there will be lots more updates in the next uh month or so as we work toward launching tickets and uh the full event lineup.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_01: So stay tuned.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and uh yeah I can't wait.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm already buzzing.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_03: That's awesome.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah I can't wait here to it's a great lineup.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_01: I know I know yay to all the authors huge thanks to all the authors for making the track from far away we have authors coming from the East Coast and like I said London and Canada.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's gonna be I didn't I didn't thank them.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_03: That that's the other thing is like all the authors who are attending like this is different from other conferences.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_03: They put in a ton of work for this thing.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like like you said GG writing the the play for the mystery and then with uh Lee and uh who was Tamara doing the uh um the the mystery like it and and then just hosting panels and like there's a ton of work that goes into this and they do it gladly because they they have a good time but um but it is it's so cool that uh yeah and taking time out of their writing schedule to travel to Ashland and yeah no I'm just beyond touched uh that they are all willing to come join and everybody's just been it's been such a collaborative and fun uh group project basically to come up with panels and then you know readers you might not know this darlings but like like the tech guy said like they're every author who is on each of these individual panels they're all planning that content themselves it's not like you know there's some script that they're following or like Emmeline with putting this crime scene together like that's just her.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah totally totally it's it's but but it that that part is should be exciting to the readers who are thinking about coming is that you have these 14 plus authors all of that creative energy going into making these like three to four days just it like super entertaining and fun.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah exactly yes it's so great.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah all right well I think that wraps us up for uh for now until next time and uh lots more to come all right until next time