The undead… and the unfed

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/10/2010 (5463 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Even though they are the undead, it appears zombies still have a heart for the living hungry.

Participants in the fourth annual Winnipeg Zombie Walk through the downtown on Saturday night were encouraged to come with a canned good to donate to Winnipeg Harvest and many of them did.

Mind you, because these are zombies, the participants were asked to put the canned good in a plastic bag to prevent any fake blood or makeup getting onto the food.

“It’s one of the more unusual places we’ve been to collect tins,” admitted Harvest volunteer John Feakes as he collected tins from people with missing eyes, huge gashes in their faces and necks, and blood everywhere.

“At least they (zombies) don’t need to eat anything,” he added chuckling.

As well, a booth was set up offering a free photo of the zombies in return for a donation to Winnipeg Harvest. If no donation, the photo would cost $2.

Sporting a large gash on his cheek, Geordy Sykes was getting ready to stagger through the downtown with his seven-year-old son Zack, who had a matching open scar on his cheek.

“It’s a fun dress-up thing,” Sykes said as Zack’s head nodded emphatically up and down.

“You only get to do this once a year.”

Steve Noel said it was the third time he was participating and he had persuaded his buddy Neil Hanson to join in.

“If I went to school like this it would be like, go home,” Noel said, looking forward with a bloodied hole where his left eye should be.

“It’s something different. I come back to this every year. I just like the zombie culture.”

Police were soon left scrambling to follow what they thought was a parade that had suddenly risen up.

The main complaint was zombies staggering on the sidewalks and crossing streets bringing downtown traffic on Main Street, Portage Avenue and Notre Dame to a standstill. But police said overall the crowd was cheerful.

“Brains, brains” appeared to be the most popular calls by the more than 300 people participating.

Rodney Smyth, who organized the event with Stephanie Buzzkill, said because there were more than 3,000 people signed up on a Facebook page promoting the event he expected a few hundred people would be participating.

About half an hour before the event began, Smyth said he was pleased with the turnout because “there’s more people here than last year at this time.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca