Oregon Drift

On Saturday, Oct. 8, the living dead will wander the streets of Coos Bay in search of tasty human victims. Be not afraid; these ghastly ghouls will be mere citizens participating in the area’s first-ever free zombie festival.

The idea for the event was spawned when ZombieFest founder and coordinator Nicole Weeks began planning for a Relay for Life fundraiser to benefit the American Cancer Society sometime around Halloween. Instead of opting for a haunted house, she decided to go in a different direction. She discovered something called a ‘Zombie Walk/Crawl’ online and discovered that the event was skyrocketing in popularity across the U.S. The event resembles a flash mob in which a large group of people dress as zombies and demonstrate their best post-mortem-like behavior around their community. Weeks believes the popularity of the undead will help to attract a younger age group to the Relay for Life program.

‘Zombies are really, really popular and it seems like they’re in every commercial, in video games, in almost everything you can think of,” Weeks said. ‘Honestly, in my experience with Relay (for Life), we have great participation for it, but there’s a certain age group that cancer doesn’t necessarily really affect unless it’s their mom or their whatever, and they don’t really get involved with that kind of thing.”

ZombieFest will be based around the idea of a Zombie Walk/Crawl, but it also will offer other activities, including a scavenger hunt, a zombie beauty pageant, a Jell-O-brain-eating contest, a zombie makeup booth, late-night movies at the Green Spot including ‘Night of the Living Dead’ and ‘Zombieland,’ and music provided by four Oregon-based bands, Phoenix, Charlie Freak, Eon and Amerakin Overdose. Vendors including Time Bomb, the Paranormal Scientific Investigators of Oregon, Mossy Rose and Fat Tuesdays Mardi Gras Grill will be providing their goods and services, as well. Proceeds from vendor space fees will go to the American Cancer Society.

Weeks expects the event will be enjoyed by those who attend, yet she has some reservations about those who do not view zombies so positively.

‘I think it’ll be a lot of fun, but, to be honest, I’m a little apprehensive about how it’ll be received by certain members of the public,” Weeks said. ‘It’s really funny when I talk to one person about it and they’re like, ‘Yes!’ and another person will be like, ‘What’s wrong with you, why would you want to do something like that?’”

Fellow ZombieFest coordinator Amanda Johnson, an employee of The World, said she noticed a similar reaction.

‘Someone is ripping our posters down. Not everyone appreciates the way we’re going about it, using the method that we’re using. Some people find zombies very offensive to their religion,” Johnson said. ‘I just wish they would realize that every poster they tear down is money taken away from the American Cancer Society.”

Johnson would like to remind the public that ZombieFest is a family friendly event that has a beneficial purpose.

‘Don’t let the name put you off,” Johnson said.

Lucia Vaughn is a freelance writer. She can be reached at lucia_vaughn@hotmail.com.

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ZombieFest will benefit the Relay for Life program and the American Cancer Society Saturday, Oct. 8, from 11:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. with a quarantine tent, vendors, scavenger hunt, makeup booth, prizes, barbecue, live music and more.

ZombieFest will be at the downtown Coos Bay pedway between the Egyptian Theatre and Mossy Rose.

• 11:30 a.m. – Zombie walk
• 11:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. – Brain eating contest sign ups
• Noon – Phoenix performs
• 1 p.m. – Brain (jello) eating contest. Limited to 8 eaters
• 1:45 p.m. – Beauty contestants meet
• 2-3 p.m. – Zombie beauty pageant
  Open to men, women and children of all ages.
• 3:40 p.m. – Charlie Freak performs
• 4:40 p.m. – Eon performs with guitarist Adam Gernandt
• 5:15 p.m. – Amerakin Overdose performs
• 6-9:15 p.m. – ‘Night of the Living Dead” followed by ‘Zombieland” at The Green Spot, 181 Anderson Ave., Coos Bay. Admission is by donation of canned or non-perishable food item
• Adult After Party at Walt’s Pourhouse

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Important Rules to Remember:

• Stay in character within the designated area. Do not block traffic.
• Do not bring your pets. They are likely to be spooked.
• Alcohol or tobacco is not permitted under any circumstances.
• Only toy weapons are allowed as part of a costume. If a weapon is too realistic, it may be confiscated.
• No baseball bats unless they are foam or otherwise virtually harmless.
• Do not frighten children or adults who are not participating in the festival and do not harass them for doing so! Use common sense, if they are trying to avoid zombies or otherwise indicating they do not want to interact with you, do not bother them.
• Please pay close attention to signs posted on store fronts. If they are ‘Zombie Friendly,” you are welcome to enter. If they are a ‘Zombie Free Zone,” please do not go inside. Do not get in the way of businesses’ sales and do not vandalize any structure with bloody handprints and such.
• If/when in an establishment, please be courteous of other patrons as well as the merchandise within the store.

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So you want to be a…

Zombie:
Look the part! Get that ‘teeth-molding, limb-dragging, flesh-rotting, drool-oozing, dead-eyed’ look to be so convincing, people might actually think you just stepped from the grave. Don’t forget to play the part as well! Strike hypothetical fear into the hearts of the living by ‘attacking” and ‘feeding upon” their helpless (and consenting) human bodies. Remember, not everyone (especially young children) will be willing to play along, so make sure your target has agreed to be a ‘victim” before you begin to make a feast out of them. Try staring at them hungrily for a little while and judge their reaction … or just look for their ‘victim” nametag. Please do not operate a camera, what kind of self-respecting undead terror would ever be caught with a device that isn’t specifically made for brain harvesting? Also, zombies prefer to keep their voices at a low, bone chilling moan instead of an ear splitting shriek or howl. Finally, and most importantly, have fun!

Hero:
To those who have spent years contemplating just how you would survive and/or fight against the prophesied zombie apocalypse, the day of reckoning you have patiently awaited will soon arrive. Arm yourself with battle gear worthy of a warrior of the living and set out to help those beset by the great, moldering siege. But be wise, soldier. You will not help a soul if you run around like a bloodthirsty maniac; for heaven’s sake, there are children around. Keep your cool and only ‘attack” those willing to fight back. Also, if you choose to bring a weapon, make it obvious that it is a fake and cannot seriously injure someone. This is a war of bravery, tact, and excellent acting skills, certainly not one in which you want blood on your hands (but fake blood acceptable). Good luck, comrade. Be safe.

Victim:
Victims will perhaps be the most beloved and appreciated members of this event. That is, when you are not being chased by bloodthirsty zombies (meaning, you will be ‘attacked,” a lot). But that’s not to say you won’t have a good time. Make it easy to be spotted by a member of the recently deceased by wearing a name tag indicating you are a ‘victim.” Be creative: ‘Eat me”, ‘I taste like chicken”, and ‘Try the brains” are great examples. Also, run and trip often with a facial expression that says, ‘Zombies scare the bajeezus out of me, but come and get me anyway.” Also, remember not to be too gratuitous with the screaming. You’re still in public, after all.