Murder, mystery and Cajun food. And it’s all for a good cause.

A Mardi Gras Murder Mystery Dinner will benefit the TLC Humane Society in Lumpkin County. The dinner will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, at Corkscrew Cafe, 51 W. Main St., in downtown Dahlonega.

Kathleen Krueger, fundraising chairwoman and humane society board member, said the event theme is “As the Beads Drop, A Murder Mystery Dinner.”

“There are three sections,” Krueger said. “The first is the introduction of the characters, the second involves the murder and the third is everyone involved saying, ‘Well I was here, not there,’ or ‘I saw so-and-so do that.’ The people there will do a kind of clue sheet based on who they think is the murderer, and it will flow like that.”

The first portion will include a cocktail hour with appetizers and the second will be a sit-down dinner as players go through their parts. The third portion will be during dessert, followed by the murderer being revealed.

Eight people will be in character, with assistance from a few dinner guests. Krueger will work with them ahead of time to give them their parts.

The event is a first for Corkscrew Cafe.

“They’re really bending over backward for us,” Krueger said. “And they have an excellent chef so the food will be wonderful.”

Though it’s the cafe’s first time hosting a murder mystery dinner, the concept is popular in the metro Atlanta area.

Krueger got the idea from Agatha’s A Taste of Mystery in Atlanta, which serves a five-course meal as actors perform a murder-mystery comedy.

Krueger said Agatha’s involves the dinner guests in the production, something they will do at the Corkscrew Cafe, too.

“We thought we’d give this a try,” she said. “I found the murder mystery itself online. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun for us.”

The $45 tickets can be purchased in advance at www.TLCHS.org/news-events. Attendees must be 21 or older.

Seating is limited, but Krueger said they will coordinate a second night if tickets oversell.

The proceeds will benefit TLC Humane Society of Lumpkin County, a nonprofit no-kill shelter.

 “We’re building a new building, as most of our animals are dogs outside in cages with dog houses,” Krueger said. “So we’re building a new shelter, and we’re in a big push this year to pay for this shelter and get our dogs out of the cold and out the 95 degree heat in the summer time.”

This is the first time the shelter has done a fundraising event of this nature, but Krueger hopes it will be the first of many.

 “We’re doing a lot of different things this year, and a lot of them involve food,” she said. “I believe if you feed people, they will come.”

“This is a wonderful evening out at a top restaurant for a good cause,” she continued. “If this is the one thing people can do this year, they can attend our fundraisers and help us take a little bit better care of our pups.”