Zombicon 2010 comes to Fort Myers Saturday
The Ocean, it’s said, never gives up her dead… or does she?
The soggy corpses of shipwreck victims, sunken naval officers, castaways, lost airmen, mermaids, voodoo tribesmen, shark-torn scuba divers, creatures from the deep and more… will rise from a watery grave, and drag themselves ashore for Zombicon 2010.
On Saturday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m., the public is invited to dress as “the living-dead” and join the “zombie horde” on the Patio de Leon, in Downtown Fort Myers. This free interactive art event is Southwest Florida’s largest gathering of zombies, and those who love them.
Inspired in part by George Romero’s “Day of The Dead” (filmed in Fort Myers and Sanibel), the centerpiece of Zombicon is the “Zombie Walk.” This is a unique brand of improvisational street theater, in which costumed participants walk en masse through the streets of downtown.
Following this ghoulish procession is an evening of live performance featuring eclectic rockers Strange Arrangement, and local favorites Justin Zero, DJ Slinky and Groove Chemist. Making their fourth consecutive appearance at Zombicon are The “What We Do” Drummers, who will be joined by belly dancer Angela Hicks and The FyreFly Fire Dancers. The infamous “Zombie-a-Go-Go” will dance their way up from “The Severed Seas”.
Reanimated corpses will compete for prizes in the fourth annual costume contest, sponsored by Radio Station 99X and hosted by Alexis, who will be broadcasting live from the Patio de Leon. More than a dozen participating bars and restaurants will be offering drink specials throughout the night for those who have purchased an official “Zombicup”, available at the Zombicon merchandise booth, and locations throughout downtown.
Just prior to this ghastly spectacle, the “Walk-Like-A-Zombie” Acting Workshop will be held at The Florida Repertory Theater Studio Space (2267 First Street) from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Basic techniques taught by local actors will be put into practice immediately following this free class. Those who would like to participate in the Zombie Walk but are helplessly “alive”, can be transformed on the spot for a small fee, at the “Kiss Me / Kill Me” Make-Up Booth.
The annual Zombicon themed art show “Dark Art 4”, sponsored by The Indigo Room, Space 39 Gallery, and Sign-A-Rama, features local artists and is displayed in windows along the Patio de Leon. The zombie horde will reassemble at midnight for the second and final Zombie Walk, which brings the event to a close.
Last year Zombicon collected nearly 1,000 pounds of food to help feed the hungry. Once again participants are asked to bring canned goods for the local Harry Chapin Food Bank. The Bloodmobile be on hand, as vampires from the Lee Memorial Blood Center collect donations of real blood in exchange for candy blood and t-shirts.
Helping to promote Fort Myers as an “International Zombie Tourist Destination”, the Hotel Indigo will be offering discounted room rates for all “zombies” who mention Zombicon when making reservations.
Zombicon 2010 is sponsored in part by: The City of Fort Myers, Horned One Productions, Needful Things Tattoos, The Halloween Megastore, 99X, The Indigo Room and The Bars & Restaurants of Downtown Fort Myers. For more information visit Facebook/Zombicon.