'Cafe Murder'
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 months, 3 weeks AGO
The Maitre d’ (Clark Dalton, left) and Detective Harris (Justin Martin) exchange words at a rehearsal of “Cafe Murder,” the joint dinner theater production by Columbia Basin Allied Arts and Sunshine Performing Arts. Performances are Friday and Saturday at Best Western Plus Lake Front Hotel in Moses Lake.
COURTESY PHOTO/COLUMBIA BASIN ALLIED ARTS
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | January 21, 2026 3:05 AM
MOSES LAKE — The audience plays detective at “Cafe Murder,” taking the stage Friday and Saturday in Moses Lake.
“Cafe Murder,” a collaboration between Columbia Basin Allied Arts and Sunshine Performing Arts, is a dinner theater production where guests enjoy a meal and a mystery play and then solve the mystery themselves over dessert.
“Dinner theater is basically the great American pastime for the arts,” CBAA Executive Director Shawn Cardwell wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald. “It’s being offered in towns all around us, but not here in Grant County, so we thought, ‘Let’s do it!’”
The setting is a restaurant-inside-a-restaurant: the Cafe Murder, named in honor of the chef’s (Emily Duvall) famous vegetarian blackbird pie, the Maître d’ (Clark Dalton) explains. Rosemary Saint-John (Victoria Drake) is celebrating her birthday with Marjorie, Melanie, Valerie and Volleny (Virginia Berry-Stearns, Becca Grommesh, Rebecca Dalton and Dave Stearns, respectively). Rosemary is no happy-go-lucky birthday girl; she’s loud, rude and claims to be allergic to water, tormenting the chef and the waitress (Zhané Serrano) with her histrionics. When she’s found dead in the ladies’ room, along comes Detective Harris (Justin Martin) to solve the crime. With some help, of course, from the audience.
The dinner part of the dinner theater, provided by Best Western Plus Lake Front Hotel, consists of lasagna or chicken alfredo, plus sides, salad and dessert, according to the announcement. Soft drinks are included, and there’s a no-host bar.
“We are incredibly grateful to be collaborating with CBAA to bring something fresh and new to our community,” said Serrano, a founding member of Sunshine Performing Arts.
‘Cafe Murder’
Jan. 23 and 24
Best Western Plus Lake Front Hotel
3000 W. Marina Drive
Moses Lake
Doors open 6 p.m., dinner 6:30 p.m., show begins 7 p.m.
Tickets available at www.cba-arts.org
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Alleged assault on officer, paramedic lands man in jail
MOSES LAKE — A man was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly assaulted a paramedic and a Moses Lake Police Officer, according to a statement from the MLPD. Jared Blake Hunter, 34, was booked into Grant County Jail on charges of third-degree assault – law enforcement officer, according to Grant County Jail records.
Home sales up as summer moving season begins
MOSES LAKE — More homes hit the market in June as summer home sales gained momentum, according to data released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which tracks real estate trends in 27 of Washington’s 39 counties. Active listings increased 16.4 percent statewide in June 2026 compared to June 2025, according to the NWMLS data and 8 percent compared to May 2026. Grant County listings followed a similar pattern, increasing 14.56 percent year-over-year and 9.18 percent over May 2026. Active listings were down 15.87 percent in Adams County from June 2025, but up 3.92 percent from a month earlier.
Renovated low-income housing unveiled in Grant County communities
QUINCY — A new-and-improved Quincy Manor apartment complex was unveiled at a ceremony Tuesday. “Today is not only about buildings preserved or units counted,” said Catholic Charities Housing Services Director of Housing Services Bryan Ketcham. “It's about families having a place to begin again, children having a stable home from which to learn and grow, and communities becoming stronger because people are rooted, supported and seen.” Quincy Manor, with 20 units, is one of three low-income apartment complexes operated by Catholic Charities Housing Services that received a complete makeover, according to Ketcham. La Amistad in Warden, with 30 units, and the 45-unit Villa Santa Maria in Mattawa were also renovated. The apartments in all three complexes were refurbished with new roof systems, interior and exterior paint, upgraded cabinets and countertops and updated community spaces, according to CCHS.