- Tonight on WPBS Weekly.

Inside the stories the Improbable Escapes in Kingston offers immersive story-driven escape room adventures, packed with challenges, hidden clues, and just the right amount of magic.

Then the Exhibition LA Cartoneria Mexicana displays over 100 historic sculptures made out of paper and paste.

Also, Laura Tiberiu is back.

Her review of Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince is a must for all Harry Potter fans.

Your stories, your region coming up right now on WPBS Weekly, Inside the Stories - WPBS Weekly inside the stories is brought to you by - When you're unable to see your primary care provider.

The Carthage Walk-in Clinic is here for you, located off Route 26 across from Carthage Middle School.

Comfort and Healing close to home when you need it most - North Country Orthopedic Group is there for your urgent ortho or sports related injuries.

With our onsite surgical center and same or next day appointments, we're ready to provide care for patients of all ages.

Your health matters to us North Country Orthopedic Group, keeping healthcare local.

- We are the north country we're protecting one another like family is who we are and where our tomorrow will always be worth defending.

Find out how we keep the north country strong, at claxtonhepburn.org Today - Select musical performances are made possible with funds from the statewide community Regrant program, a REGRANT program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York state legislator administered by the St.

Lawrence County Arts Council.

- Good Tuesday evening everyone and welcome to this edition of WPBS Weekly Inside the Stories.

I'm Michael Riecke.

Improbable Escapes in Kingston offers immersive story-driven escape room adventures.

Each room is a fully designed world packed with interactive challenges, hidden clues, and just the right amount of magic.

Their West End location Wonderland elevates the adventure even more with retail space and a cafe to offer a unique blend of adventure, creativity, and connection that keeps people coming back for more - Improbable Escapes has been locking up locals and tourists since 2015 in the best possible way.

Whether you're cracking codes in a steam punk submarine, breaking a curse in a wizarding cottage or reanimating a patchwork monster.

Every room is handcrafted for suspense surprises and serious fun with movie-like sets and brain bending puzzles.

This isn't just an escape room, it's a full-blown adventure.

Escape rooms have only - Really been in Canada for about 11 or 12 years, like 11 and a half ish years or so.

So it is a really new industry still.

And yeah, we were definitely at the beginning of that wave, which is really cool.

Emma and myself, Emma's my business partner.

10 years ago we were working for a similar business, different but still was in the escape room industry and we thought that we could create experiences in a really fun and great way.

We didn't have the opportunity to do that there, so we decided to do it ourselves.

So we quit our jobs on the same day to actually start looking into doing this.

And then, yeah, so we're coming up to our 10th anniversary, came to Kingston.

We were looking for different cities that we could do this in and everyone was super kind here and super nice and the space that the first space that we found was a pretty good fit for us.

So it all kind of just worked out really quickly and we just jumped in - And jump in, they did right into something big.

Improbable Escape.

Started with just three games in downtown Kingston.

Today they've expanded to a second location in the city's West End, opened a theme board game cafe and continue to dream up new and mind bending escape adventures for the creators.

It's all about crafting experiences.

So engaging players, forget they're in a game.

What - Gets me wanting to do something is like full immersion.

So like what's super different?

What, what do I know that we can build that will be different and take you to a place where you're, you're not in Kingston anymore, you know, like you're Neverland right now or you're in the minds or wherever.

So I like that kind.

That's sort of what motivates me.

And then, and then it all sort of goes from there - And, and then also what's the player's motivation and how can we convince them that they're, that they're motivated and get them moving and the way that you want them to and make the puzzles make sense and make the moments make sense, but also surprise and all of that.

I think people have gotten way more creative though and it's sort of going into a different world - Where you're like, it's more of a a show and like an experience more than just an escape room.

Behind it all is a team of puzzle loving storytellers and set building wizards who bring these worlds to life.

One lock riddle and secret passage at a time.

These aren't just games, they're stories you step into.

- I am really proud of the story that we tell in Frankenstein.

I, I don't know how many people pick it up.

I don't know how many people are there, but if you're paying attention and you are re especially if you're really paying attention, you are telling a really full story, like a, like a total story but also a full and like rich story.

And even like the puzzles, like the puzzles, we try really hard for the puzzles to be telling a part of the story.

Like why is this here?

Is it just here because it's a puzzle.

Sometimes that happens but we try really hard to be like, no, this puzzle is telling a part of the story.

And sometimes that's as simple as you need to turn on the engine.

So you've gotta turn on the engine and instead of just flipping an on switch because that's boring, it's this weird, completely ridiculous way of turning on an engine.

But you need to turn it on somehow.

So it may as well be fun - And fun.

It is, but it's also clever, challenging and completely absorbing.

Every puzzle prop and plot twist is designed to pull players deeper into the story where teamwork and quick thinking are the keys to escape.

All the while a game master watches from behind the scenes offering hints, tracking progress and making sure the adventure unfolds just right.

- The title of being a host, some people will say Game master or game actor, it kind of is all the same umbrella term, but you're kind of a host 'cause you're hosting the guests that you bring in to the space and you're their host.

You're trying to monitor, direct them in the room and make sure that they have a good time as soon as they go into the room.

A lot of times their first reaction just is a really fun experience to also be a part of because it is pretty immersive.

We try to include sensory puzzles as well as audio in the room itself.

And yeah, just getting to see people light up because the nostalgia of some of these games.

- As the doors to one adventure close new ones are being built behind the scenes.

Improbable escapes continues to expand.

Combining the thrill of the unknown with the nostalgic charm of classic puzzles and storytelling that first captured our imagination.

Stay tuned.

The game is far from over and there's always something new on the horizon.

- Our plans are basically to keep building escape rooms.

We're in the process of building our namesake game.

It'll be an Alice Wonderland themed game at this location, which is really exciting.

It'll come out later this year.

So, and then after that we will, we do have plans, they involve expansion, but that's all I can really say for now.

- For WPBS Weekly, I'm Gail p.

- For more information, visit improbableescapes.com In this segment we traveled to the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico to get an inside look at the exhibition, La Cartoneria Mexicana, which displays over 100 historic sculptures made out of paper and paste.

Take a look.

- So the Museum of International Folk Art has dedicated an exhibit to this vibrant and colorful world of Cartoneria and I'd love to learn more about that world.

So can you tell me a little bit more about like the art and the history of Cartoneria?

- Of course.

Yeah, so the exhibit La Cartoneria Mexicana, the art of paper mache from Mexico really highlights the practice of using just basic materials like paper and glue to create this beautiful three-dimensional pieces.

And it's something that is part of many different communities across Mexico.

But in the exhibit we're actually highlighting three major areas, La Ciudad de Mexico, Celaya Guanajuato, and Nayarit.. And you know, like the history of Cartoneria is kind of hard to trace.

A lot of historians believe that it was brought by Catholic priests coming to to Mexico during the colonial period.

It's very interesting the way that we also laid out the exhibits to highlight that aspect of, of Cartoneria and how it's connected with a lot of festivals that are connected with the Catholic religion.

So can you tell me a - Little bit about the fire of Holy - Week?

So that's one of my, actually my, one of my favorite sections and the exhibit, because we actually have a lot of pieces that are kind of part of the femoral aspects of Cartoneria.

So we have this large Judas figure representing the apostle that betrayed Jesus.

And in this celebration a lot of Cartonerias created this large sculptures representing Judas, right?

And some of them are looking more like devils, right?

So some of them may have like horns and they're, they're red.

Some other ones may have even more decorative elements, like a lot of beautiful bright colors.

But what happens with those sculptures after they're created, they're actually burned down by using different fireworks.

They're attached to the figure.

And so after creating this beautiful piece, right, it is just destroyed during that celebration, right on Holy Saturday.

Something that was happening in the 1960s is that Cartoneros began to create a lot of figures and toys to sell to the children who were attending the festivals.

So being part of those processions, many of the toys that you see and vendors creating around this time were like, like dolls.

Also cartoon figures.

It's really interesting to see how pop culture played a huge influence in a lot of that.

- The exhibit spans Cartoneria roughly like 40 years, 1962, 2000.

So how does this timeframe reflect the changes that Cartoneria has gone through?

- Yeah, so as you move through the exhibit, we don't have as many names of the artists because they're meant to be used right objects that were part of celebrations.

And as you move a little bit farther into the exhibit, you begin to see names of artists like Pedro Linares, right?

Who was one of the early artists who started innovating in that form, creating objects that were meant to be collected because they were finely painted or they were so elaborative, right?

They had so many details.

Pedro Linares is an artist from Mexico City.

He was the creator of the Alibrijes, this mythical monster-like creatures.

And then also the, there's a long lineage of family that continue that tradition.

So the piece with the skeleton that was created by Felipe Linares, who was one of his sons and I believe he wanted to represent like the, the idea of death also being so alive, right?

With all the creatures crawling up.

But it's such a magnificent piece that shows like all the detail and like all the intricacy that can be applied to such a basic art form, right?

So it's, it's a really fascinating way how artists have just expanded that and not just limited to the traditional forms.

And what's your favorite part of the exhibit?

I love the pinatas, especially as an educator trying to walk a lot of children through the gallery and teaching them about this traditions, it's really fascinating when they find something that they're connected to.

One of the interesting ones that I always love to share is the seven-point star, the seven point star.

And the exhibit represents like the seven deadly sins, right?

So each point of the star represents one of the deadly sins that is part of the belief in the Catholic religion.

And so one of the ideas is that after you break the pinata, right, and a lot of the candy comes out, each is kinda your treat for holding and and not falling into doing those sins.

So it's kinda your reward, right?

And so that's something that is very interesting to me, how all of those forms have been created inspired by, by those ideals, right?

Belief systems.

I think that it's important to share this kind of art form of this traditions with people because of the, just the amazing creativity that is showcasing each of the pieces, but also the ingenuity of the artists as well.

Thinking of the very basic materials of using just any paper available, you know, water and flour to create like their paste to create these forms and how Cartoneria is such a big part of community as well.

I think that's something that is very important to think of.

Like art is around us all the time and is part of us, right?

Like we cannot disconnect that.

And so for me that's very valuable.

And also thinking of the how important this this art form is for a lot of Mexican individuals, right?

A lot of people who are being able to still be surrounded by this art form and be connected by, which I think is really beautiful.

And also there's just so much joy around it as well that I think everyone can really connect with.

- Finally tonight, discover your next read Avid reader, Laura Tiberiu shares her views on the book Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling, an ardent Harry Potter fan.

Laura admits that the sixth book in the Harry Potter series is her favorite, and if you haven't read any of the Harry Potter novels, her review just might convince you to give the series a try.

Here's Laura with more.

- Hi, I'm Laura, and today I want to talk to you about a book that has completely taken over my life.

This series, I should say, has become a major personality point for me.

I even have a tattoo here dedicated to the book series.

Well, it's a quote from the first book in the series.

And overall this series has taught me so much about the battle of good and evil and that internal conflict we always have of being a good person.

But being courageous and standing up for yourself, it's taught me so much about the beauty of friendship and what loyalty can really look like in the purest form.

It has made me fall in love with magical worlds that don't exist that I wish existed and it really became a hyper fixation for me for a few years and continues to be one.

But now I balance it out with other hyper fixations a lot better.

And I am of course talking about Harry Potter, specifically Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prints in this video.

Now there are seven books to choose from and eight movies that I could be talking about, but Half-Blood Prints is by far my favorite, especially book, but probably movie as well because this book is the sixth in the series, the sixth movie as well.

And it beautifully portrays our protagonist's life at Hogwarts trying to be a student.

And there is a lot of plot movement in this book, but I wouldn't say it's as action packed as the other books in the series.

We actually get to see them in classes and interact with one another and studying and being around the grounds and navigating all this information that just got unloaded on them at the end of the last book Order of the Phoenix.

And that was an action packed book through and through, especially at the end.

Whereas this one, it almost felt like a breath of fresh air that you got to just watch Harry Hermione and Ron and Neville and everyone else McGonigal, all of the gang interact and be quote unquote normal.

It's hard to say that because at the same time so much is being divulged in this book.

It is a lot of information being dumped on you about the series and you find a lot of gold nuggets that are going to be important in Deathly Hallows and that connect a lot of the dots when you look back at the other books in the series.

And there's a lot that comes out with Horcruxes.

And again, that battle between Good and Evil and the Half Blood Princes, the whole title of the book as you're figuring out who that Half Blood Prince is, I mean it's definitely a gripping book and things are happening all the time that keep you hooked to the edge of your seat or the edge of your couch where I like to read.

But it's still a bit more manageable in terms of it feels cozy and it doesn't feel like each page is life or death, which a lot of the other books can feel that way.

It's more of a calming read, at least I find it that way.

And that's why I think it'd be great for anyone.

Of course you're gonna wanna read the rest of the books in the series that come before this, before you pick up half blueprints.

But why I decided to talk about this one specifically is because I think in your twenties and as a young adult, so beyond your twenties, it can be really hard to find moments for yourself to just relax and also be very present and take in the amazing life you have around you.

A lot of the times I find myself just sitting when I'm with my friends and thinking internally sometimes externally and being the cheesy one, just how grateful I am to have these people, to have this interaction, to have this community around me and people that I can do silly things with, like the adventures that they go on, but also more serious times when I need support, they're there for me.

And there's specifically a few scenes in this book where the three of them, Ron Hermione and Harry are just hanging out in the Gryffindor common room and those feel like a warm hug.

Like those moments make this book stand out so much to me.

But also I love piecing clues together and I think you get so much interesting information in the half-blood prints that is setting up the last book.

But it's also, like I said, connecting everything we just learned from the previous books.

So it's just all around an amazing time.

And if you haven't read it, please go read the other books.

But definitely get to this one and I hope you love it.

I think it is such a great peak.

Before we get to the last book to close off the series, I also two quotes that I absolutely love that I wanted to share to make you want to read the book even more.

And neither of these spoil the series if you haven't read any of the Harry Potter books.

But the first one is in chapter nine, the Half Blood Prints of the Book.

And it says, when you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love.

And if you know anything about the series and if you know anything about love and especially in your twenties or thirties or any stage of life, you know how true that quote is.

And the power of obsessive love, especially in a fantastical magical world such as this, but also just in real life is pretty incredible and comes up in the book a lot.

The second quote I wanna share, which applies very much to this scene of the book, but also again in life in general, this series is full of just good moments like that which really make you reflect and think about life in a deeper way.

But it's chapter 26 of the book The Cave and Dumbledore says to Harry, it is the unknown.

We fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.

And that just encapsulate this existential crisis we all have about death and what the afterlife is.

If there is an afterlife, what happens after you take your last breath?

What is the meaning of all of this?

I, I really think that one sentence just describing it's that unknown of it all that makes us fear it and scared of it because if we knew we would have time to prepare, even if it was something gruesome, we wouldn't be fearing it.

We would know and prepare.

I will say too, I'm a sucker for a good backstory and in this book we get to know a lot more about Voldemort's past and what led him to everything he does.

And we also get some more insight and backstory on a lot of key characters through Dumbledore's Pense, which is this magical tool item water fountain ish, or what is it called?

I think it's actually called Pense.

But nonetheless.

And you dip your head in and you get to see memories that he has stored in his office.

And Harry and him go through this journey of looking through the past and looking at past memories and trying to extrapolate key details or moments that Dumbledore may have missed when he first noticed.

Or maybe he just wants Harry to see as well.

'cause Dumbledore knows everything.

You know, that's a theory as well.

But I loved that piece.

I was so blown away by Voldemort's backstory actually.

And then I of course did some further reading on my own and it made so much more sense how he came to be as evil as he was because it felt unnatural.

And well, spoiler alert, it is a bit unnatural.

So that was really, really cool to see in this book and overall this book.

But the entire series just deals with friendship and resilience in such beautiful ways.

And I think if you're going to read a series and commit to something long, this is one of the series to do it with because from start to end, it's action packed.

Mixing in with good cozy moments lets you escape to new fantasy world.

Then you have a movie series to watch and kind of congratulate yourself for finishing reading a whole series.

And if you've already read this book, which a lot of people have, I hope you loved it and this was a good recommendation.

And if you didn't, that's okay.

People can have different opinions and yours can be wrong, but I'll leave it at that.

And if you do end up picking up this book or the series to read, I really, really hope you enjoy - That does it for this Tuesday night.

Next week, our high school quiz series, Whiz Quiz returns for its 45th season with host Mel Bustler.

More than 30 local schools compete for the top title of Whiz Quiz champion.

The winner takes home the Glenn Goff Trophy.

Tune in weekdays at 7:30 starting this Monday, October 20th.

Meantime, if you have a story idea you'd like us to explore, we'd love to learn more.

All you need to do is send us your idea at WPBS weekly@wpbstv.org and let's share it with the region.

WPBS Weekly will return with fresh new stories on December 23rd, just in time for Christmas.

We'll see you then.

Have a great night.

- WPBS Weekly inside the stories is brought to you by - When you're unable to see your primary care provider.

A Carthage Walk-in clinic is here for you, located off Route 26 across from Carthage Middle School, comfort and Healing close to home when you need it most - North Country Orthopedic Group is there for your urgent ortho or sports related injuries.

With our onsite surgical center and same or next day appointments, we're ready to provide care for patients of all ages.

Your health matters to us.

North Country Orthopedic Group, keeping healthcare local.

- We are the north country, we're protecting one another like family is who we are and where our tomorrow will always be worth defending.

Find out how we keep the north country strong, at claxtonhepburn.org Today - Select musical performances are made possible with funds from the statewide Community Regrant program, a REGRANT program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York State legislator administered by the St.

Lawrence County Arts Council.

- I think that's something that is very important to think of, like artists around us all the time.

And it's part of us, right?

Like we cannot disconnect that.

And so for me, that's very valuable.