It was a touching funeral.

"When they came out, they had tears in their eyes," said Angela Berger, who organized the event.

Fortunately, no one had to die.

The tears were shed at a simulated funeral last month as part of the initial Lawrence County presentation of the Reality Tour, which will be coming to Ellwood City from 6 to 9 p.m. March 2 at the Municipal Building.

The Reality Tour, developed in 2003 by Butler County entrepreneur Norma Norris, takes its audience through the downward spiral of drug addiction, from peer pressure to drug experimentation, to arrest to eventual overdose death.
Berger, a 2000 Lincoln High School graduate who is organizing the Reality Tour in Lawrence County, will hold informational meetings at 6:30 p.m. today and Feb. 23 in Ellwood City Council Chambers at the Municipal Building.

About 60 people viewed the Reality Tour last month in New Castle, and the next presentation, scheduled for March 30, is nearly completely booked, said Berger.

She said the Lawrence County premiere had an effect on the New Castle audience.

"They actually saw the jail and it really scared them."

There are still spaces available for the Ellwood City Reality Tour, even though Berger believes there is growing concern over possible expansion of drug trafficking in the area. She hopes that the upcoming presentation will be a wake-up call for its audience.

"A lot of times, kids and parents don't realize that it is a problem," said Berger.

She hopes a talk by a borough police officer during the Reality Tour event will drive home the point that drugs are a threat in small-town America, including Ellwood City.

The Reality Tour will feature dramatic presentations of arrests - including use of the police holding cells in the Municipal Building - and medical emergencies, with personnel from Medevac ambulance service working on a simulated overdose victim.

Marshall's Funeral Home personnel will participate in the Reality Tour's powerful finale, the simulated drug abuse victim's "funeral."

Additional Reality Tour presentations are scheduled for April 3 in Ellwood City and April 27 in New Castle.

In the long term, Berger, a graduate of Gannon University who is studying French Education and addiction counseling, says she plans to use the Reality Tour to focus on elementary school students.

She aims to have entire classes, and the students' parents in audiences for future performances.

"It really makes an impact on the child with their entire social circle present," Berger said.

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Pre-registration is required for the March 2 Reality Tour presentation. To reserve a space in the Ellwood City Reality Tour or to volunteer with the presentation, contact Berger by phone at 724-831-8234, or attend either of the informational meetings.

Ellwood City Area Public Library also has pre-registration forms available. A $5 donation is requested for Reality Tour attendance.