Great Heinz Caper returns for 3rd year with 'Ghostbusters'-themed fundraiser

Who you gonna call?

A ghost is haunting the streets of Sharpsburg, just in time for the third annual Great Heinz Caper.

The live-action community scavenger hunt invites people to canvas the borough, from the James Sharp Landing to the property where the iconic Heinz condiment company was born in 1869.

The game dares people to solve a “Ghostbusters”-themed mystery by following clues scattered throughout the streets and businesses. The person or team who solves it the quickest can win $500.

“It is a ton of fun,” said Kathleen Stanley, executive director of advocacy group Roots of Faith. “The story just keeps unraveling.”

Costumes are encouraged, with prizes awarded for Best Dressed Team and Best Dressed Individual.

Participants should be armed with ghost traps and proton packs, ready to hunt on Sept. 27. The first of the three-hour time slots begins at 10 a.m.

Tickets cost $10 to be eligible for the prize. People also can join in the fun for free without competing for the award.

Proceeds benefit Roots, an outreach center along Main Street that provides critical services such as food and utility assistance, financial wellness programs, employment help, clothes closets and more.

More than 250 people participated in each of the past two years, Stanley said. She hopes even more are drawn to solve the gripping clues and uncover secrets about the community.

Hampton resident Barry Rogers is helping to organize the event. He said the whodunnit mystery is geared toward people of all ages.

“It’s a real-time version of the game Clue, and we’ll have actors all around to hand out little tips that send people to the next stop,” said Rogers, an organist for Faith United Methodist Church in Fox Chapel. “It’s kind of like trick-or-treat. You see all these people going up and down the streets.”

Special guests will include the Steel City Ghostbusters paranormal pack, cruising the borough in the Ectomobile. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man also plans a larger-than-life appearance.

When the event premiered two years ago, the caper followed a fictional theft of a famous Andy Warhol painting. Last year, there was a “Murder on Main.”

“Now, rumors swirl that the stolen painting and subsequent murder were part of a deeper secret buried along the Allegheny River,” Stanley teased. “People uncover that the reason the painting was stolen was that there is a hidden map under it. They will have to test their wits to uncover what the map is about.”

Winners will be announced at 5 p.m. — and even that comes with a special twist, Rogers said.

“After they figure out who did it, the Sharpsburg police come and haul the suspect away!”