COMMUNITY
A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2018
Murder mystery dinner at Agape House
By TAMMY MALGESINI
COMMUNITY EDITOR
Murder and mayhem
ensues as someone ends
up dead in Deadwood.
The biggest deal in
town for quite some time,
as a Texas hold ‘em tour-
nament draws in people
from near and far. Pre-
sented by Agape House,
the murder mystery din-
ner theater fundraiser will
leave you dying for more.
Simply Catering is
serving up a Wild West
meal with a choice of bar-
becue pork loin or beef
tri-tip. The menu also
includes red potato salad
or broccoli salad, baked
beans and rolls. And, don’t
forget to leave room for
dessert — it’s to die for.
“Murder at the Dead-
wood Saloon” is Monday,
Dec. 31 from 6-9 p.m. at
Agape House, 500 Harper
Road, Hermiston. Tickets
are $35 each.
Photo contributed by Rod Bragato
Youths and chaperones head to one of the destinations during the 2017 New Year’s Eve Lock-
In. This year’s event begins and ends at Living Faith Church in Hermiston.
Youth event locks in New Year’s fun
dle school students at one
destination while high
school students will be at
the other. The cost is $15
per person, which is pay-
able at the door.
By TAMMY MALGESINI
COMMUNITY EDITOR
An epic New Year’s Eve
party is planned for area
youths.
“This year is going to
be hot,” said David Gutier-
rez, youth pastor at Living
Faith Church. “I don’t want
that stigma that church is
boring.”
The New Year’s Eve
Lock-In is Monday, Dec. 31
beginning at 7 p.m. at Liv-
ing Faith, 1611 Diagonal
Blvd., Hermiston. While
the event begins and ends at
Living Faith, church buses
will transport youths and
chaperones to other desti-
nations, including Knocker-
Ball at the Hermiston Chris-
tian Center and laser tag at
Campus Life. Other activ-
ities available include a
Fortnite dance battle, board
games, pool, ping pong,
basketball, a movie, pizza
and much more.
The entourage will
return to Living Faith at
midnight to ring in the New
Year with live music and an
inspirational message. The
event ends Tuesday, Jan. 1
at 1:30 a.m.
Open to youths ages
12-18, the auxiliary activi-
ties will be split with mid-
“This year is
going to be hot.
I don’t want that
stigma that church
is boring.”
David Gutierrez, youth pastor
at Living Faith Church
Initially organized by
Living Faith, the idea
behind the New Year’s
Eve Lock-In was to pro-
vide a fun and safe night
for youths, Gutierrez said.
In the fall of 2015 when
he started at Living Faith,
several other youth leader-
ship positions were filled in
the area. Rather than being
exclusive and focusing on
activities for just their own
groups, Gutierrez said the
leaders decided to work
together collaboratively.
“It kind of exploded
from there,” he said. “Last
year, 230 students attended.
It was more than we were
expecting.”
Born and raised in Herm-
iston, Gutierrez said as a
teen he started making some
bad choices. When he was
16, he moved to Salem —
and later Centralia, Wash-
ington — when an aunt and
uncle took him in. They
were pastors and introduced
Gutierrez to Christ.
Around the age of 24,
Gutierrez decided to go into
youth ministry. With a nat-
urally cheery and upbeat
personality, coupled with
high energy and social awk-
wardness at times, he said
it seemed to be the perfect
combination.
“I was able to get my
energy out and connect with
teens on a personal level,”
he said. “And they were
helping me, too.”
As far as deciding the
type of activities for the
lock-in, Gutierrez takes the
pulse of current trends —
talking to teens and other
group leaders.
“I purposely try to fol-
low trends to see what is hot
or not,” he said. “I want to
do things that attract teens.
I don’t want a boring party.”
Although not required,
Agape House executive
director Dave Hughes
encourages people to dust
off their Stetson hats,
starch their Wrangler jeans
and pull on pair of cowboy
boots.
“It’s always a lot of fun
when everyone gets into
it,” Hughes said.
A cast of unsavory
characters will leave the
audience with lots of ques-
tions. As everyone gath-
ers for a party to celebrate
the tournament’s success
and to award the prize
money, someone meets
their demise.
With a handful of locals
with possible axes to
grind, or high stakes gam-
blers sore about losing, it’s
anyone’s guess as far as
“who dunnit.”
Hughes said the murder
mystery fundraisers are
always a lot of fun. And,
the Western-themed ones,
he said, seem to appeal to
a lot of people.
“I enjoy watching the
guests interact with the
characters,” Hughes said.
“It’s so interesting to
see how they react — or
should I say suspect?”
In addition to provid-
ing financial support for
Agape House, Hughes
said, the fundraiser offers
a fun evening for people
in the community. Also,
he said it’s being held
early enough that after-
wards people can head to
the Hermiston New Year’s
Eve Bash, which starts
at 9 p.m. on the festival
street area.
Eastern Oregon Mis-
sion, the parent organiza-
tion for Agape House and
Martha’s House provides
assistance to people in
need. For more informa-
tion, to purchase an event
ticket or learn ways to
support Agape House, call
Hughes at 541-567-8774
or 541-571-7293.
BRIEFS
Recreation department
presents family night
attend are encouraged to reserve a spot.
For more information, call 541-667-5018.
While company is in town for the hol-
iday season, Hermiston Parks & Recre-
ation invites them to a family event.
Activities include bounce houses, a
bungee run, a velcro wall, Jacob’s ladder,
corn hole, air hockey, ping pong and more.
Also, concessions will be available for
cash purchase.
Family Friday Night is Friday, Dec.
28 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Hermiston
Community Center, 415 S. Highway 395.
The cost is $15 for ages 16 and older, $10
for ages 2-15 or $30 for a family of four
(additional kids are $8 each). Children
must be accompanied by a guardian.
Space is limited, so those planning to
1
2
3
4
It’s the most
wonderful time
of the year!
IMAC cooks up breakfast
fundraiser
A hearty breakfast is featured during
a fundraiser for the Irrigon Multicultural
Arts Center.
The meal is Saturday, Dec. 29 from
7:30-10:30 a.m. at Stokes Landing Senior
Center, 150 Columbia Lane, Irrigon. The
cost is $4.50 per person.
The nonprofit group is interested in
preserving Irrigon’s 1921 school build-
ing and developing a regional arts venue.
For more information, call Peggy Price at
541-567-3806.
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