The Escape Room event donated $7,000 to Wes for Youth Online, a youth mental health counselling organization, at the Queen’s Bar & Grill March 25. The money was raised through Escape Room registration fees. From back left: Wes for Youth Online Executive Director Jenn Mulcaster, Escape Room co-organizer Rob Fawcett, volunteer Craig Bell, co-organizer Phillip Craig, volunteer Mike Reiley, and room and event host Pier Donnini, with Yolanda Cameron (centre) Chair of Wes for Youth Online.

Hub Staff

Working together as a team was the “key” to escaping the five mobile escape rooms set up throughout Port Elgin establishments March 25.

Teams numbering six to eight people dared to race against the clock and had under one hour to look for clues, keys and intricate ways to escape from participating locations such as: Lakeshore Recreation, Allan’s Fireside Grill, Queen’s Bar & Grill, Chester’s Bar & Grill and Boston Pizza.

In all $7,000 was raised from team registration fees, which was donated to Wes for Youth Online, a growing youth counselling service serving Grey & Bruce and surrounding areas.

The Escape Room event, organized by Rob Fawcett of Port Elgin and Escape Room aficionado Craig Bell, peaked the interested of many Saugeen Shores residents who registered within days, filling 56 time-slots in all.

Fawcett said they couldn't have created such a successful event without their volunteers, who, if he had to count their man hours, it would be “non-stop”.

“The last week has been 8 to 14 hour days testing all the rooms,” said Fawcett, March 25. Each room is completely different from the other with the Queen’s Bar & Grill room created with a “games” theme featuring card games, chess and a maze; while Chester's Bar & Grill was a “murder/kidnapping” theme held in the basement of the establishment. Fawcett said that this room only had a 10 percent success rate and that teammates were chained together and had to deal with clue management and unlock themselves four times, which followed with the use of a marshmallow gun to escape. Only five teams made it out “alive”.

Allan’s Bar & Grill was a “mafia” theme and included a telescope that read backwards as well as lots of problem solving skills. Fawcett said Allan’s was one of his favourites as participants would get the most out of it. Boston Pizza included trailers and participants would have to communicate through walkie-talkies to escape. And Lakeshore Recreation’s room was pitch black and would only illuminate through the peddling of a bike and neon signs that were featured in the room.

Fawcett said he was thrilled to raise $7,000 to Wes for Youth Online, as youth mental health is a very important issue. He added that because the organization is privately funded “anytime that you can help a group like that... it makes a big difference.”

Chair of Wes for Youth Online and recently crowned “Woman of Distinction” at the March 4 Women’s House Serving Bruce & Grey’s International Women’s Day celebration, Yolanda Cameron, was on hand at the Escape Room event completing the Queen’s Bar & Grill room in 39 minutes and 21 seconds. Cameron said that the $7,000 donated to the online organization will go a long way. “We will put it towards our counselling services,” said Cameron who later said that $100 worth of online counselling “usually helps six to eight kids in an hour”. Following her escape room experience Cameron thought her Wes for Youth Online team of four “did pretty darn good” and said that “you get jazzed and then want to do another one”, and that “teamwork” was the way to get through the room.

Cameron and the members of Wes for Youth Online were stationed at the Queen’s Bar & Grill for the event to help promote the youth counselling service. Cameron hoped this event would “snowball” regional awareness, as the Walkerton-centred organization helps youth throughout Bruce and Grey counties.

Top escape room team times:

Chester’s Bar & Grill - Speer Family - 52 minutes 25 seconds
Allan’s Fireside Grill - Bison Coburn - 32 minutes 11 seconds
Queen’s Bar & Grill - Team Shular - 25 minutes
Boston Pizza - Speer Family - 44 minutes 29 seconds
Lakeshore Recreation - Speer Family - 37 minutes 38 seconds

The “Swanky Drink Spillers” team at the Allan’s Fireside Grill Escape Room. This mob styled room doled out its fair share of challenges, with the Spillers escaping the room in just over 40 minutes.

Teammates had to be chained together to complete their escape from the basement of Chester’s Bar & Grill during the Saugeen Shores Escape Room event. Out of 12 teams to pass through only five made it out of the basement “alive” from this creepy, murderous room.

The Bott team cracked the code to the Queen’s Bar & Grill “Games Room” with a time of 34:69.

The room at Boston Pizza had its competitors held inside a mobile trailer.