Mysteries will haunt the museum at Westmoreland Museum's October Art on Tap

Museumgoers, beware — at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art’s upcoming October Art on Tap event, an eclectic cast of spooky characters will wander the galleries.

They’re not ghosts or ghouls, but Halloween-themed roles that will be played by actors from Greensburg theater company Stage Right.

Through a “Mystic Museum Mystery Quest,” the actors will lead Art On Tap attendees on a “ghost hunt” adventure around the museum, inviting participants to complete activities and challenges similar to an escape-room format.

The “Art on Tap: Art After Dark” evening is scheduled for Oct. 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. Festivities will also feature Oktoberfest-themed food, music from Cool Change Duo and pumpkin carving with artist Richard Bubin. A beer garden will be set up to host local breweries doing beer tastings, and a bar will provide Halloween-inspired signature cocktails. Visitors are encouraged to dress up for Halloween if they would like.

The mystery challenge portion of the night is an expansion of last year’s Halloween iteration of the regularly scheduled Art on Tap program, said Darrah Resnick, events coordinator at the museum.

“(Visitors will) have to complete this little challenge that the actor will give them, and that will prompt them to find the next one to solve a large mystery,” she said. “The guests who successfully complete the challenge will be entered into a drawing—we have some prizes they can win at the end.”

“There will be some unique puzzle tasks that the guests and patrons will have to do to obtain some puzzle pieces that will direct them to the end of their search,” said Stage Right Executive Director Christopher McAllister. “We’re using the exhibits to help generate the puzzles that the guests will be using. It’s a lot more interactive and is more of that escape-room type feel.”

The partnership between Stage Right and the museum also extends to tickets. Visitors who have tickets for Stage Right’s HarvestFest fundraiser the next day on Oct. 21 can show those tickets for a discount on tickets at Art on Tap. Conversely, attendees who buy tickets for Art on Tap can get into the HarvestFest event the next day for free.

“Art has always inspired theater, and theater often inspires physical art, so it seems like a natural partnership,” McAllister said.

Registration for the 21+ event is available online. Tickets are $12 for members and $15 for non-members and buyers at the door.