Zombies Give St. Catharines A Thriller

Zombie Walk Fights Hunger And Promotes Awareness

Jul 12, 2009

It's become common knowledge that zombies are voracious, but they are anything but selfish. According to reports, the walk generated food and money donations for charity.

This July 4, marks the third annual zombie walk taking place in St. Catharines which started, locally at least, in 2007. The route of the lumbering zombies has remained the same throughout its three year run.

St. Catharines Zombie Walk History

“So far, it is tradition to start and end the walk from 97.7 Hitz Fm's White House of Rock. They have been great with supporting us each year and they are a perfect central location,” said Lindsay D’Antonio, Leader of the Undead.

The White House of Rock is located just east of the St. Paul st. bridge that spans 13 Mile Creek. Local media including Cogeco Television News were in attendance to report on the devastation caused by the masses of undead.

The first known example of a non-commercial zombie walk came in 2003 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The event in 2003 was organized by Thea Munster, a local horror movie fan, and reportedly had only six participants. Since then zombie walks have crept up in almost every major city in North America and is starting to catch an audience internationally. In 2007 approximately 1,100 zombies attended the Toronto walk.

Unsubstantiated reports claim there were approximately 100 zombies that showed up for the event this year in St. Catharines. Year one brought out roughly 30 participants with the number increasing to 75 in year two. The trend has seen the walk grow annually.

Zombies Feed The Hungry

The whole point of the zombie walk is for fun and charity. The zombies who attend the walks are encouraged to bring non-perishable goods for donation to such charities as the Salvation Army.

“The main idea is for zombie and horror enthusiasts to have a day to dress up and have fun. Also we do the food drive for Salvation army and Zombie Squad comes out to help and to promote their charity events. The Zombie Squad also does a lot of disaster preparedness, first aid training etc,” added D’Antonio.

Local Chelsey Boichuk attended her first walk this year (2009) in full undead fashion.

“Lindsay D’Antonio told me about it. I brought a couple of cans (for the charity bin). I’m really excited for next year,” said Boichuk.

“I had an (outfit) from a previous zombie video. My friends made a video for their song, ‘Zombie Killer’,” added Boichuk.

Michael Jackson Thriller Tribute

The zombies in attendance also had a little of the “Thriller” in their hearts when they performed a tribute to the late Michael Jackson. The undead organized themselves as best they could, considering the damage to their bodies, in the Hitz FM parking lot and danced to Jackson’s smash hit with an undead Michael leading the pack.

“We believe that St.Catharines is the first Zwalk since the passing of Michael Jackson, who obviously gave zombies their own song and dance, so we felt that we should pay tribute to the best of our zombified abilities. We tried to do it last year but it was too last minute of an idea, so with his death this year, we became determined,” said D’Antonio.

Organizers intend to perfect the “Thriller” dance for the fourth annual walk.

Zombies On Facebook

For more photos and information check out the Facebook profile by searching St. Catharines Zombie Walk.

The copyright of the article Zombies Give St. Catharines A Thriller in Performance Art is owned by Mike Sheeler. Permission to republish Zombies Give St. Catharines A Thriller in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.