The cast plays it real during the Murder Mystery Dinners at the Inn of Cape May.

Waltz your way back in time during the Vintage Dance Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 8 and Sunday, Oct. 9. Vintage Dance Instructor Martha Griffith will have you kicking-up your heels like they did in Cape May’s Victorian heyday as she teaches you the popular ballroom dances of the mid- and late-19th Century at a Vintage Dance Workshop at the Franklin Street School, Franklin and Lafayette streets.
A costumed Vintage Ball will be held at the Cape May Elementary School, Lafayette Street at Madison Avenue, with live music of the period by Spare Parts on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m.
On Sunday, Oct. 9 at 2 p.m. enjoy an elegant Tea Dance, also with live music by Spare Parts, at Cape Island Baptist Church Hall, 115 Gurney St. Refreshments are included at the Ball and Tea Dance and Victorian costume is highly encouraged (but not required).
This October, the Actors Offstage, Cape May’s new theatrical group, takes over the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., and turns it into an intimate and terrifying theater.
New for 2011, Murder at the Physick Estate presents “Doorway to Darkness.” In the early years of the 20th Century, a medium trying to communicate with the spirit world used the crude technology of the day to unlock the door that separates the world of the living from the world of the dead.
Performances are offered on Friday, Oct. 7 and Saturday, Oct. 8 at 6:45 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, MAC is transporting audiences to a time when the allegiances of Cape May’s residents were divided between Union and Confederate causes, to witness first-hand the war’s effect on a local family.
Travel back to 1863 during Cape May in Blue & Gray offered on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. The drama begins on the trolley and finishes at the historic 1876 Chalfonte Hotel, 301 Howard St., where you’ll enjoy tea refreshments after the performance.
Discover the fun and follies of Cape May’s history on the Cape May Unzipped Trolley Ride. The story of America’s first seaside resort may seem to be a tale of stately hotels, visiting dignitaries and noble rebirth from the ashes of fires and neglect.
Tours are offered on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 2:30 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. and on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
On Sunday, Oct. 9, the Victorian Weekend Crafts & Antiques Show sets up on the lawn of the Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St. Crafters and antiques dealers from throughout the region will display and sell their unique and hand-made wares from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Celebrate the fall season at the Scarecrow Workshop on the grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., on Saturday, Oct. 8 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Please call 609-884-5404 ext. 111 to register. Rain date is Sunday, Oct. 9.
Did you know there was once a “South Cape May?” On Saturday, Oct. 8 at 4 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Advent, Washington and Franklin streets, co-authors of “Remembering South Cape May: The Jersey Shore Town That Vanished Into the Sea,” Robert Kenselaar and Joseph Bucher will present a free lecture.
Cape May Stage presents “The Woolgatherer” on Friday, Oct. 7, Saturday, Oct. 8 and Sunday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. Performances take place at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse, corner of Bank & Lafayette streets.
East Lynne Theater Company presents “Dulcy” on Friday, Oct. 7 and Saturday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Dulcy is a comedy by Pulitzer Prize-winners George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly.
Performances take place at the First Presbyterian Church, 500 Hughes St.
The Cape May Film Society presents “Tospy-Turvy” on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. In this zany 1999 comedy set during the Victorian Era, Gilbert and Sullivan threaten to disband after their latest play is critically panned — until the two are inspired to write the masterpiece "The Mikado."
For further information about any Victorian Weekend event, or for MAC’s year-round schedule of tours, festivals, and special events, call 609-884-5404 or 800-275-4278, or visit MAC’s Web site at www.capemaymac.org.