zombies shuffling down main street at dusk
Don’t be frightened this Saturday night if you see hundreds of Zombies shuffling down Main Street at dusk in Old Town Newhall towards the Heritage Haunt, the long running haunted house attraction at Heritage Junction. If you want to get your Zombie on, and participate, contact Brave New World for details about having your makeup done, free tickets to the event for zombie participants, and joining with the staff and dancers at the Canyon Theatre Guild as they attempt to break the world record for the number of zombies dancing to Michael Jackson’s seminal hit, ‘Thriller’.
How the Main Street Zombie March came about is a story in itself. “Since comics and horror tend to walk hand in hand, we knew we wanted to participate in promoting the Heritage Haunt at Hart Park this year,” explained Atom! Freeman, Brave New World’s proprietor of pretentious punctuation. “So, I went to the folks at the Haunt and told them my idea for a few friends and I to put on zombie make-up and walk from our shop to the park. When the Haunt and the City said yes, it kind of snowballed.”
The event was announced on the social networking website Facebook, and that “few friends” quickly ballooned to 400+. “After that, more and more people wanted to get involved in making MZM Day a success,” added Atom!.
The festivities start as soon as the doors open at Brave New World, which is located in Downtown Newhall, at the corner of Chestnut St. and Lyons Ave. Students and teachers from Studio Make-Up Academy will be on hand to give zombie participants that just-rolled-out-of-bed-and-ate-some-brains look. In exchange, they are asking for zombie participants to add to the mountain of canned food and cash donations for the Santa Clarita Food Pantry.
While everyone gets their zombie on, comics and horror writer Kevin VanHook will be signing his bestselling graphic novel ‘Superman and Batman Vs Vampires and Werewolves’.
Promptly at dusk, or 6pm for those who are a little less spooky, registered zombie participants will begin their shambling, shuffling, undead journey from Brave New World, headed south along the newly renovated Main St., to William S. Hart Park. Once at the park, zombies will receive complimentary admission to Heritage Haunt, the long running haunted house attraction at Heritage Junction.
Along the way, participants are invited to join the staff and company of dancers at the Canyon Theatre Guild, as they attempt to set a world record for the number of zombies dancing to Michael Jackson’s seminal hit, ‘Thriller’. “When Michael Jackson died, I realized that dancing the ‘Thriller’ dance was on my bucket list!”, says Carol Rock, diehard theatre buff, “The choreographers at the CTG are just amazing. And it’s an excellent way to exercise your living parts…even if you might feel dead tomorrow!”. The City of Santa Clarita will be closing a portion of Main St. to facilitate the flash mob style performance, and all zombies are welcome and encouraged to participate.
After enjoying the slow, undead walk to Hart Park, and having their pants scared off at Heritage Haunt, everyone, undead or not, is welcome back to Brave New World for Some Enchanted Evening: ZOMBIE PROM! Zombie Prom will feature live, undead music, and a Zombie Prom photo booth courtesy of Autumn Hull Photography.
“We have so many cool things planned for this event! I know the zombies of the SCV will be out in full force to support the Food Pantry.” Said Portlyn, Chief Zombie Wrangler and BNW co-owner, “It’s going to be great!”
Portlyn and Atom! can be reached at 661.259.4745, or via email at mail@bravenewworldcomics.com for more info on Zombie: The Walk of The Undead!
