The spirit of Halloween will come early for the Columbia Valleys undead this fall.
Fire Vixen Tattoos is hosting the third annual Invermere Zombie Walk at 4:30 p.m. at Pothole Park on Friday, October 30th.
Its not a fundraiser for a charity, its just something we do for fun, said Silena Ewen, volunteer. We do it downtown on the holiday to draw people to the area.
Ms. Ewen estimates there were roughly 200 spectators and about 50 participants at the second annual Invermere Zombie Walk last year, and she is eager to see those numbers grow this season.
This year will be our third year doing it, so were hoping to draw more people, said Ms. Ewen. Basically, people put on their best zombie costume and make-up, meet at Pothole Park and then we zombie walk through downtown to the Station Pub.
Sarah Eastick, the owner of Fire Vixen Tattoos and event organizer, started the zombie shuffle tradition three years ago in order to have fun and extend one of her favourite holidays Halloween.
I started the Zombie Walk because I love Halloween, said Ms. Eastick. I wanted to bring something fun, free and different to the community and if we get to dress up to frighten some onlookers, thats just an added bonus.
But in an attempt to draw out more participants for the third annual Invermere Zombie Walk, Ms. Ewen who doubles as a substitute teacher in the Columbia Valley will be offering makeup lessons to students at David Thompson Secondary School (DTSS) and Open Doors during art classes to help youth prepare for the festivities.
I have some theatrical makeup training so Ill be going up and doing a quick zombie makeup workshop for the students, said Ms. Ewen. Then, well have some supplies available to them if they want to take some supplies home to come out to the walk.
However, there is a strong desire from Ms. Eastick to offer rewards to the strongest makeup and costumer participants so she is hoping that the community will pay it forward to make the event popular.
There will be prizes for best makeup and costume portrayal for kids, teens and adults, said Ms. Ewen. Were working to get as many prizes as we can.
For more information about the Zombie Walk or to donate prizes for best zombie costumes, call 250-342-8844.
