Arts & Culture in Vacaville

At Marin Murder Mysteries, dinner mates may ask you to pass the rolls just before they begin chipping away at your alibi. That’s because guests are both suspects and sleuths during the theater troupe’s interactive performances, attempting to tally the clues and pinpoint the culprit's motive. Each year, the cast and crew serve up three to four different shows that inject generous portions of slapstick into the familiar detective genre. The writers and directors have a particular fondness for the noir-soaked era of the 1950s, with such past plays as Remains to be Seen, Murder Me, Always, and Death of a Doornail. During the show, guests have the option to dine on a gourmet dinner or sip cocktails from a cash bar.

It only takes six minutes to find a soul mate—at least that's what Wine Country Chemistry aims to prove with their speed-dating events. During a two-hour evening, anywhere from 10 to 20 pairs of men and women circulate through the room to embark on 10 six-minute mini-dates. Using a discreet scorecard, attendants document whether or not they would want to see the person again by circling a simple "yes," "no," or "my pen isn't working." The event's organizers collect scorecards at the end of the night, later giving mutual yeses their counterpart's email address so that they can arrange a full-length date.

To promote physical and emotional development, Aerials Academy of Gymnastics and Dance enriches its physical classes with imaginative play and music. Programs are designed for toddlers, adolescents, and teenagers, with a variety of class structures available. Aerials Academy staff leads ballet, tap dancing, and gymnastics while also combining disciplines to create acrobatic adaptations of formal ballet productions. Twice each month, the instructors host Friday-evening play sessions that keep children busy while parents reclaim their free time by going shopping for unexpected holidays.

Between rounds of a custom four-course meal, the Dinner Detective’s guests set their well-fed brains to sussing out who among them is a murderer. Groups of up to 80 dine on appetizers of vegetable spring rolls and steamed potstickers with hoisin sauce, warming them up for a high-energy, comedic investigation led by skilled improv actors posing as detectives, audience members, and talkative teapots. As guests dine on entrees, such as grilled chicken on spinach and red onion, broiled salmon with lemon-dill sauce, or vegetable ravioli with artichoke pesto and fire-roasted tomatoes, additional murders happen and clues are revealed. The best sleuth in the audience receives an award, with a dessert of mini chocolate bundt cake soothing the egos of audience members certain that Colonel Mustard was the culprit.