The undead came out to play on Saturday, Oct. 6 for the fourth annual Saint John Zombie Walk. Zombies could join the horde with a five dollar fee and a donation of a non-perishable food item, given to Romero House.
Zombies gathered in King Square starting at 4:30 p.m. to register and the walk down King Street began at 6:00 p.m. There was a hearse present for zombies to register, which created an excellent eerie atmosphere for the walk. This is the fourth year in a row that a zombie walk has taken place in Saint John, and has been a trend in bigger cities for many years. This year marks biggest walk to date for Saint John, with over 200 zombies in attendance.
Interesting entertainment was provided at the event with fire dancers performing in the square to entertain the undead. Performers with blazing hula-hoops and batons danced around the square with music blasting from a decorated van.
This year the host of the walk, Kayla Abrams, had special “Saint John Zombie Walk” rubber bracelets made for attendees, who were given one with registration. There was also an official zombie after-party which was held at the Pub Down Under on Main St. and people dressed as zombies attended for free. “We hope that this year will be the biggest yet,” says Abrams, “and hopefully we have continued support to do it every year.”
Prizes were given out for some of the best zombie costumes. However, not only zombies were present for the walk, many people dressed up as “survivors” of a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. Some of the categories included Best Zombie, Best Zombie Kid and Best Survivor. There was also a draw for a mechanical zombie baby if you purchased a ticket. A table was set up where you could pay two dollars to have your zombie gore done up by a volunteer.
One of the prizes was a “Zombie Snack Pack” from Gamezilla, which included edible zombie skin, zombie toenails and zombie blood for Best Family. Other prizes included an autographed book from U.K. zombie author David Moody “Hater,” a family prize package from Freak Lunch Box, Zombie Card Game from Reads, gift certificates from Value Village, Jungle Jim’s and Taco Pica, Rick Grimes Halloween costume, Walking Dead t-shirt from Second Spin, and some Walking Dead comics from organizers.
Many creative costumes came out for the walk. There were zombie doctors & nurses, zombie Disney princesses, zombie brides, zombie prom queens and even zombie babies. There were also some students from UNBSJ participating in the walk. UNBSJ student, Mallory Moseley, says that this was her first year doing the zombie walk but she plans on doing it again. Another UNBSJ student, Caitlin Robertson says she participated in the walk, “because it [was] my birthday! It [was] perfect for my birthday party.” Also present and zomified was UNBSJ professor Dr. June Madeley.
The Zombie Walk continues to grow every year as zombies are becoming increasingly popular in pop culture, especially with mega television hits such as The Walking Dead. You can find more out and get involved next year by joining the Facebook group “Saint John Zombie Walk.”
