It's different when the lights are out. 

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ART 321, for years, has served as a beacon for Casper artists who want to display their work at a gallery. It has really picked up steam the last few years, as ART 321 has opened its gallery doors to a wide array of different artists, with different backgrounds, who use different mediums to express themselves. Whether it's a painting, a sculpture, a dramatic exhibit, even a series of quilts - ART 321 exists in Casper to inspire artists and showcase work that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. 

But that's when the lights are on. 

When the lights are out, when they're turned off, when it's midnight and darkness envelops the entire gallery - that's when the real fun begins...

Art 321 is hosting its 2nd Annual Feast & Fright Halloween dine-in haunted house fundraiser on October 28, and you're invited.

This dinner-and-a-show type event will feature a deliciously spooky meal and the show is, well, the show is whatever you decide to make it.

Photo Courtesy of Tyler Cessor
Photo Courtesy of Tyler Cessor
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"You can kidnap somebody and put them on stage, and they'd have to go through some fun skits and fun things," Cessor told K2 Radio News. "This year, they might have to dance a little. Or they might have to come up with an escape plan. They might get wrapped like a mummy. There's all sorts of things."

Those 'things' come from a 'Scare Menu,' in which participants can purchase various 'scenes' to inflict upon their guest(s), with all of the money going to, as Cessor put it, "a local organization that's supporting creativity.

Hunter Harmelink, from the Michael Houck Real Estate Team, will be serving as the event's MC and he and Cessor will spend the evening torturing (but like, in a fun way) guests in a variety of spooky, scary, hilarious ways.

"There's going to be a bucket of cadaver parts that people can search through for drink tokens and different prizes," Cessor revealed. "There's also a silent auction. People can come in anytime between now and the event and see the creepy art that we'll have up for the silent auction, which was a big hit last year."

Cessor said he and his team chose to hold this event because, quite frankly, ART 321 is one of the oldest, creepiest buildings in town. So it just makes sense.

"We just have a creepy basement in an old, historic building," he stated. "So we were like, 'Let's play into that and bring out the scare factor in our building.' If people join us, they can be a part of the seance in the basement and talk with our ghosts, or they can do a palm reading in our elevator."

But is ART 321 really haunted? Well, Cessor says...maybe.

Photo Courtesy of Tyler Cessor
Photo Courtesy of Tyler Cessor
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"You know, we've had some people come in and say that they smell a cigar burning in our basement, and that could be a sign of one of our ghosts," he said. "I mean, the building has been around since the early 1900's, so I wouldn't put it past it to have a couple lingering souls. Maybe of the fruit warehouse worker of long, long ago."

Whether there are ghosts, ghouls, witches or werewolves, the most important invitee to this event is you.

"We'd love for people to go online and purchase couples tickets, or they can buy a table for 8," Cessor stated. "It's a pretty inexpensive night in comparison to other events. There will be some trivia and some activities and things attendees will get to do just by attending. There's a whole 'show' component, but you don't have to spend more for a good experience. But, if you want to donate while you're here, there are some great ways to give and support the operations at ART 321 this fall."

Photo Courtesy of Tyler Cessor
Photo Courtesy of Tyler Cessor
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Tickets for $50 for an individual, $90 for a couple, or $450 for a table. After October 21, prices will go up. So whether you come solo, with a date, or with a group of friends, this event is surely going to be one to remember.

"It's a haunted house experience that's just right," Cessor said. "It's not too scary, not too sweet. It's just right down the middle and it's a really fun way to support the creative expression of those in our community."

The 2nd Annual Feast & Fright event, sponsored by the Michael Houck Real Estate Team, is happening October 28, 2022 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.

ART 321 is an incredible gallery featuring local artists, all with their own stories to tell. But when the lights go out, when the darkness envelops, when you're down below, in the depths of the basement, that's when the real ghosts of ART 321 make themselves known.

And they have such sights to show you.

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