Venturing Crew 4005 in Cape Girardeau gives youth aged 14 to 20 a chance to work, play and learn together, said crew adviser Sharon Wessel, and a murder-mystery event planned for Saturday will help raise funds for the group.

The group is a program of the Boy Scouts of America, and uses the Scout oath, Scout law — basic character building.

It’s a coed group, Wessel said, and the participants choose their own program.

“We have a slate of officers, and for our group, we meet every couple of months,” Wessel said. “Our kids decided they wanted their main program focus to be gaming.”

Wessel said the group now has several Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts, and she’s been pretty happy to expand the definition of “gaming” to include anything but video games.

“Getting away from electronics, having good face-to-face conversation — that is their primary focus,” Wessel said.

That love of fantasy led to the idea to hold the fundraiser, Wessel said.

Attendees can come as they are, or some might choose to dress up, either elaborately or as simply as wearing a wizard’s hat or a cape.

“The more you dress up, the more fun you’ll have, but it’s not mandatory,” Wessel said.

This isn’t a murder-mystery theater, she said. Instead, when attendees purchase a ticket, they’ll receive a list of characters to choose from, take on the persona for the evening, and have a light script to follow.

At Saturday’s event, attendees will share information about their characters, and between meal courses, attendees will be given a clue each round.

Teams of eight per table will vie for small prizes, Wessel said, and there will probably be awards for costumes and the like — “some fun stuff without getting too overboard.”

Wessel said plans are already in the works for another similar event in April, themed Roaring ’20s.

Already, she’s seeing great results this year, Wessel said: “It’s been fun watching seven socially awkward youth come together and get to know each other really since the first of the year. They’ve bonded and the girls that were shy are no longer shy. They feel safe with each other.”

Proceeds will go toward funding a summer camp activity for the group, Wessel said.

“We are always recruiting, and if any youth age 14 to 20 are interested, even if not in Dungeons & Dragons, we also do board games once a month, or they could join us for outside activities,” Wessel said.

The Saturday event will be held at the Cape Girardeau VFW Hall, 1049 N. Kingshighway.

Event tickets are $20. For more info, email crew4005email@gmail.com.

Get your weekend plans delivered to your inbox. Sign up for the Expedition: Weekend email newsletter. Go to www.semissourian.com/newsletters to find out more.