By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Staff at the Historic Wolf Hotel in Ellinwood is putting together the details and plans to launch an escape room. Kelli Penner and her husband enjoy escape rooms and wanted to bring one to Barton County. Working at Wolf Hotel, Penner received permission to create one in the building’s vault.
Penner based
the escape room on the banking scandal that happened in Ellinwood in 1907.
"The Bockemohle brothers, who ran the Bank of Ellinwood in its time, embezzled money which is true back in the day," said Penner. "The premise of our escape room is that the brothers blamed it on you. You have to fine all the evidence to exonerate your name before the time is up."
Penner said the vault will not actually lock participants in, but there will be a 90-minute time limit to figure out the mystery.
"Instead of getting out, you have to go through safety deposit boxes, hidden books and find evidence on how they took the money," said Penner.
A soft opening will be held
on Friday, June 16 with sessions at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. with hopes of an official
opening during Ellinwood’s After Harvest Festival in July.
"We hope to do it long term," said Penner. "It'll probably just depend on our interest. If we have to rearrange some stuff in there to change it up we will."
The $20 escape room tickets can be purchased online. You can buy tickets at historicwolfhotel.com.