Hunt Mysteries: A Favorite Venue: The Camelot

The Camelot in Layton, Utah,
with Hunt's pumpkin at the
entrance, Oct. 1993.

One of our favorite venues for Hunt Mysteries was the original Camelot at 930 W. 2000 North in Layton, Utah. The restaurant and wedding facility featured great food in a really nice banquet hall.

A description of the facility appeared an article by Al Church in the Deseret News on Dec. 3, 1993:

"The legend of King Arthur and the knights of the

Cast: James Tensley, Lenore
Cambria, Bruce Craven, Mike
Weaver, JoDean Pond, Diane
Lyon, Monte Lyon and ??

Round Table has inspired just about every genre of literature, from epic poems to comic strips. The royal court's residence, Camelot, is glamourized in a Broadway musical and linked in present day history with the administration of President Kennedy.

"The imagined opulence and grandeur of Camelot have also inspired the Camelot Restaurant in Layton. The exterior is ringed with wrought iron and guarded by statuesque lions. Though there is no moat, a wide cobblestone drive circles around the front, leading to a drawbridge-size door.

Bruce Craven and
Lenore Cambria

"The interior is spacious with several different dining areas stretching under vaulted ceilings. A large fireplace warmed one large party during our weekday visit in a cozy, hearth-like room. We were seated in the main dining area, adorned as a hunting hall with sets of antlers ringing the walls.

"More modern conveniences such as a piano, small inlaid dance floor and glowing gas fireplace kept us from straying into the realms of Sherwood Forest. We barely noticed the glowering and somewhat anachronistic portrait of Henry VIII above the mantle...."

Bruce Craven and Monte
Lyon at Vladimir Brothers.

Hunt Mysteries performed many different shows, public and private engagements, at The Camelot over several years before it was sold. The new owner remodeled and added another larger reception banquet hall. We eventually returned there and did several more years of public and private shows in the larger venue and occasionally in the smaller original hall.

One of the first shows we performed at the Camelot was "The Beast Must Eat, and the Camelot became Vladimir's Castle for the evening.

Diane & Monte Lyon

Here's a portion of an entertainment news article that appeared in the Deseret News, Oct. 10, 1993:

"The Beast Must Eat," a Halloween dinner mystery by Hunt Mystery & Company, will have three public performances in October.

First up is Friday, Oct. 15, at the Camelot Restaurant in Layton. Tickets are $28 each and include dinner (choice of London Broil or Chicken Merlin) and a costume contest. Call The Camelot Restaurant at 773-1336 to make reservations.

Lenore Cambria as
Sybil Hex.

On Saturday, Oct. 16, the participatory mystery will unfold as a fund-raiser at West Jordan High School for the West Jordan Chamber of Commerce and will also include a costume contest. Tickets are $25 a person or $45 a couple. Call the Chamber at 569-5151 to make reservations.

A special performance is scheduled at Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 29 and 30, in which the mystery continues with an addition segment Saturday morning. Ticket packages start at $64 and also include a prime rib dinner, costume contest, overnight lodging and a breakfast buffet. KSL Television's Shelly Osterloh will be a special guest and have a cameo role in the show. Call 521-6040, ext. 4080, to make reservations.

James Tensley at Camelot

Seating for all three shows begins at 7 p.m.

"The Beast Must Eat," in which guests interact with the actors and solve the mystery, poses several mysteries: Is the Halloween party just a unique sales ploy to lure innocent timeshare customers to the Vladimir Castle Condominiums - or is it a dark illusion created by Victor and Lucious Vladimir? Are they really hundreds of years old? What does their secretary, Sybil Hex, have to do with their business?