After a wave of public backlash, the traveling “pop-up” cocktail bar focused on serial killers has removed references to Ted Bundy from its Tallahassee stop.
Although advertisements featuring Bundy’s image remain visible on social media, Tallahassee Garden Club board of trustees chair Brenda Dyer confirmed in a phone call with the Tallahassee Democrat that, after a cooperative conversation with the organizers and renters, Midnight Creative agreed to remove Bundy from the “Serial Killer Speakeasy” concept.
“It was not our intent to cause any angst,” Dyer said, emphasizing that they did not condone the Bundy references. “We would never sponsor anything like that.” The organization regularly rents out its property for events ranging from weddings to business meetings.
Following a podcast interview, Midnight Creative said on Facebook its “goal has always been to inform, never to idolize. To explore the psychology, history and stories behind these cases while creating an experience people won’t forget.” A request for comment is pending with a Midnight Creative representative.
The “Serial Killer Speakeasy,” is still slated for this July and is anticipated to continue to feature serial killers – Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy and Ed Gein – and themed drinks. Among those relieved by the decision was Diane McCain, president of the Chi Omega Tallahassee Alumnae organization and a member of the sorority whose chapter was forever changed by Bundy’s 1978 attack.
“It just sickened me,” McCain told the Tallahassee Democrat in a phone interview on June 3. “Although it has been a very long time, it’s still very vivid in the minds of all of us.”
While McCain said she still questions the appeal of a serial killer-themed event, she welcomed the news that organizers agreed to remove Bundy.
Since the attack that killed Chi Omega sisters Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy and injured two others, McCain has spent decades advocating for crime victims. Her work included helping secure support for a victims’ rights amendment in Florida, a campaign she recalls taking door-to-door throughout her community.
Nearly 50 years later, that commitment to victims remains unchanged. “We were all victims,” McCain said in her 1989 interview with the Chicago Tribune, including her seeing her friend Lisa Levy in her final moments. ”Everyone in the house was a victim as far as I’m concerned.”
Nearly 50 years later, her advocacy and compassion remain unchanged, as she voiced her concerns about the event to several garden club members.
“What is it that’s so attractive that you find it as entertainment?” she told the Democrat. “It isn’t something that’s glamourous. It is real life.
“… Lives were lost and I think that until someone has lost somebody or experienced that kind of trauma, they don’t really understand how sensitive the matter is.”
This article includes previously reported information. Kyla A. Sanford covers dining and entertainment for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at ksanford@tallahassee.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: ‘Serial Killer Speakeasy’ drops Ted Bundy from Tallahassee stop
Reporting by Kyla A Sanford, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kyla A Sanford, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
