Perfect Venues: Thomas Fogarty Winery

Murder on the Menu/TeamBuilding Unlimited always loves working at wineries. Since our home base is the San Francisco Bay Area, we're lucky because we are close to several different wine growing districts. Over the years, I think we've worked at more than 350 wineries. Wineries make perfect settings for all kinds of team building events and entertainment from Wacky Games to Scavenger Quests to Murder Mystery dinners.

One of my favorite winery venues is Thomas Fogarty Winery located in beautiful Woodside, south of San Francisco. On Sunday I had the opportunity to actually attend a wedding there rather than work the event. Very interesting to see the 'other' side of an event. Thomas Fogarty Winery, with stunning views from San Francisco to San Jose, is one of the Peninsula’s premiere wedding and special event locations. Known for its award winning wines, Thomas Fogarty Winery is a breathtaking redwood and stone facility with three separate levels that "flow" down the mountainside. This warm and inviting facility is a great place to escape for that company offsite or perfect wedding, anniversary or special event. There are several different event/meeting spaces, and at the wedding I attended, the dinner was held in the Pavillion, a huge covered deck area suspended over the vineyard, and later we went into Hill House for dancing. These spaces were perfect for the wedding, but there is a conference room and several other spaces for meetings, including the intimate Redwood Room with its stained glass windows and redwood walls.

Thomas Fogarty also has award winning wines, so if you find yourself out and about on a Sunday afternoon, you can always stop by for a tasting.

Murder on the Menu/TeamBuilding Unlimited has been working at Thomas Fogarty since the mid-80s. We've done mysteries, Scavenger Quests, Chocolate Tastings, Wacky Games and lots of other customized interactive teambuilding and entertainment there. The staff is great, the vendor list diverse, and the ambiance terrific.

Thinking about a holiday party on the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula? You might want to consider Thomas Fogarty Winery.

Public Mystery events

Murder on the Menu does mostly corporate and private mystery events, so it's always exciting when we have mystery parties that are open to the public. Usually our public mystery events are for fundraisers. In October we'll have two public events--October 24 for Habitat for Humanity and October 17 for San Carlos Children's Theater. Not sure all the notices are on their webpages yet, but I urge you to check with them and save the date. I'll also be putting pages on my website about each event. In the meantime, here are some particulars.

October 24, 6:30-11:30. Chaminade, Santa Cruz, CA. Dinner, Mystery, Dancing. Benefit: Habitat for Humanity.

October 17, 7-10. Hotel Sofitel, Redwood Shores, CA. Dinner and Mystery. Benefit: San Carlos Children's Theater.

And, here's a fun event open to wine club memers and the public! Join the wine club, get good wine and a discount on events!
October 25, 6:00-9:00. Kendall-Jackson, Fulton, CA

Mystery Party Centerpieces

Murder on the Menu is often asked to suggest centerpieces for our murder mystery parties. Thought I'd share some ideas, so you can do this at your 'home' mystery party.

A great centerpiece is the Board from the Clue Game. On top of this you can place votives, floral arrangements, or weapons. Weapons? Yes, easy to make or buy weapons such as bombs, dynamite (covered toilet paper insert), noose, knife, pearls (strangulation). One client recently used the cards and the weapons and people from the game. Any of these items can be inserted into the flower arrangements or scattered on the Clue Board. Word of advice. Don't use cap pistols, water pistols or other guns. They're noisy and disruptive to the flow of your party or event. A few years ago, a Silicon Valley client had water pistols in their centerpieces. The guns were quickly removed and used by the group, shorting out the sound system.

Here's another idea: Flower arrangements filled with tea-stained mystery novels (I know, a sin to book lovers and to me, the Editor of the Mystery Readers Journal (see my other blog: Mystery Fanfare), magnifying glasses, Sherlock Holmes hats (deerstalkers), fedoras.

Other centerpieces could include mystery accoutrement based on motives, cops, detectives (different types of hats).

Other ideas to get into the mood. Name your tables after different fictional (movie, TV, book) detectives. Ask your guests to come dressed as their favorite sleuth. This is easy for the guys--a trenchcoat and fedora. Or, you can always supply the fedoras and boas (if it's a period piece) or other hats and small costume pieces.