What’s for Dinner? It's a Mystery!
For more than a decade, the Mystery Dinner has been the Stonington Free Library’s signature annual fundraiser. It sells out quickly and typically takes place at the end of April. This year marks the 14th event, planned for April 30th. Tickets go on sale in early April. For more information, visit the Stonington Free Library.
It began in 2009 as the brainchild of Ruth Saunders and Joyce Pandolfi, library trustees who were looking to fill a hole in the library’s budget. They drew on personal experiences and proposed a new concept to the Board: guests would have cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at the library and dinner at a nearby home. Their dinner hosts would be a surprise until announced at the cocktail party.
Each year the Mystery Dinner committee chooses a theme, usually with a literary connection. The first event was Great American Authors. Subsequent events have included Alice in Wonderland, Hemingway in Spain, and A Passage to India. As of this post, this years’ theme is, well, still a mystery!
Past Mystery Dinner Invitations
THREE COURSES PLUS cocktail hour
The entire menu (including signature cocktails such as the Mark Twain Twist and the Rose Cooler, and hors d’oeuvres such as andouille sausage bites and phyllo tattle cups stuffed with brie and cranberry sauce), is designed around the theme. Main courses have included entrees such as Sausage and Chicken Jambalaya (Great American Authors), Kerala Fish in a Red Sauce with Peanut Rice (A Passage to India), Monkfish Wraps (Enchanted April), and Valencia-Style Paella and Pea Soup with Serrano Ham (Hemingway in Spain). Desserts such as Tarte au Citron, Almond Cake, Crema Catalana, and many chocolate specialties have topped off the feasts. Recipes for the first six years have been compiled into a cookbook, available as a pdf and on loan at the Stonington Free Library.
Sibby Lynch, member of the decor committee for Shakespeare and Company in 2019
The Mystery Dinner is a cherished Stonington tradition. It not only raises much-needed funds for the Library but also introduces residents to new friends and neighbors and creates a wonderful sense of community.
To purchase tickets when they’re available, or for more information, visit the Stonington Free Library.
Photos by Stephanie Calhoun and Jim Sullivan