VSA arts of Kentucky, Public Theatre of Kentucky and Western Kentucky University’s Kentucky Library and Museum will present an evening of food, music and death with the murder mystery “Murder We Wrote: My Deadly Valentine.”

Now in its fifth year, the fundraiser for VSA arts of Kentucky will be at 6 p.m. Friday at the Kentucky Library and Museum. Tickets – which are $50 a person and $35 a person for groups of eight or more – can be purchased at the door; however, organizers want people who are planning to attend to call the VSA arts office at 781-0872 or toll free at (877) 417-9597 so that they can make sure they have enough food.

“It’s a great thing to do for Valentine’s weekend – something a little different and fun,” VSA arts executive director Ginny Miller said. “Sleuth attire is optional. We have some folks who come dressed for the occasion, which makes it even more fun.”

The evening will begin with hors d’oeuvres, drinks and entertainment by Patrick Hughes, a blind Louisville man who is unable to walk. His family received a home through the ABC show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” in an episode scheduled to air at 7 p.m. Sunday on WBKO-TV, Insight Cable Channel 9.

“Patrick was the VSA (Kentucky) Young Soloist Award recipient in 2005, and he won the national VSA Arts Young Soloist Award as well,” Miller said. “He performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington.”

There will also be a silent auction of various items including a starter set for billiards, power of attorney and living will services, beauty products, theater tickets, season tickets to various arts events and a live auction of artwork created by students and local artists.

Adapted from a play by Mike Williamson and Darryl Sharp, “My Deadly Valentine” tells the story of Valentine Xavier, a college professor trapped in a snowstorm with people who hate him on Valentine’s Day in Loveland, Colo. There are also two families gathering for a joint Valentine’s and Christmas celebration and a student of Xavier’s who just wants a better grade. There are several people who have a good reason to want Xavier dead.

“This is the fifth in a series written by Williamson and Sharp,” Bill Leonard, who is directing the murder mystery, said. “In my opinion, this is the best one of the five.”

The cast of eight – all PTK veterans – will perform the play and then take an intermission, during which the audience will have an opportunity to guess who committed the crime and answer a few other questions, Leonard said.

“The first one who hands in the correct paper gets a gift,” he said. “Then in act two, we’ll explain what happened.”

Last year’s “Murder We Wrote” event raised about $8,000, Miller said.

“This is our annual fundraiser that goes to help us continue to provide programming opportunities in the arts for adults and children with disabilities,” Miller said. “We want to make the arts accessible for everybody.”

— For more information, call the VSA arts office at 781-0872 or toll free at (877) 417-9597.