Happy Friday the 13!  This is the last one for 2009 so enjoy it as much as you can.

The last couple of days have been crazy.  If you have not been watching the news, Virginia has been hit with a huge storm that has caused flooding and the Governor has issued a State of emergency.   Check out some of the News coverage.

Our power has been off and on, so of course I turned off  the Zombie Popcorn Radio stream until the storm blew over. (it is back up if you want to listen.)  Speaking of blowing, we also had winds that reached near 75 mph.  I was sitting at the back door watching all of the trees and power lines dance violently.  It was pretty amazing.

I have not ventured outside yet to take notice of all the damage but I will as soon as I finish eating these wonderful pancakes Mylie cooked for our flood day.  So stayed tuned for photo updates.

Have a wonderful Friday the 13th!

I arrived at the MacArthur Mall on Sunday October 11th to join in the festivities of World Zombie Day. The Barnes and Noble in the shopping center had converted it’s name to Brains and Noble for the day to be fitting for the event. When I entered the store I was surprised to see quite a few zombies had already taken over the book store. The event was also taking place to celebrate the opening of “Evil Dead: The Musical” which is going to be running from Oct. 17th thru Nov. 8th at the Generic Theater.

I had arrived a little early to introduce myself to the people hosting the event and to let them know I would be walking around taking pictures and interviewing some of the zombies that were walking about the store. In the midst of all the chit chat going around I happened to hear that the mall security was giving some of the zombies a hard time for being dressed up, and telling them they were committing a Class 1 Felony. I thought this was rather odd considering that there was to be a zombie walk later in the day from Brains and Noble to the Hot Topic where the cast of Evil Dead were to do a performance. I also heard that security was telling some of the zombies that “Zombie Day isn’t today.”

So at about 2:00 the event began and the Evil Dead performers had set up to do a number from the show, at this time the entrance to Brains and Noble was completely packed with zombies and civilians! The cast performed the number “Do the Necronomicon” which the crowd and I found very entertaining. From that point on I took lots of pictures and did about 10 interviews with numerous zombies and folks from the Evil Dead camp. The zombie walk went off without a hitch and the cast did another performance in the entrance of Hot Topic for all the mall shoppers.

What I found most impressive about this experience was that in the 2 and a half years I have lived in this city I never knew there was such a strong presence of horror and zombie fans. This was sure a slap to the face for me, and I have to say I loved every minute of the event, the Evil Dead camp did 2 more performances throughout the day and there was also a costume contest. I have pictures of all the winners and numerous other folks from the day here for you viewing pleasure.  (More after the break)

All in all I had a great day and everyone were good sports. I am also very excited to see “Evil Dead: The Musical” . I would also like to say thanks to Phillip (producer of Evil Dead), Jeff (Director) and Jeannette (president of the Generic Theater) for being very nice and gracious to Zombie Popcorn for attending the event. Please be sure to listen to Zombie Popcorn Radio on Saturday 7-9 eastern time for our coverage of  World Zombie Day complete with interviews and more. You can also download the podcast on iTunes on the following Wednesday.

World Zombie Day is coming up again and this year it is happening on Oct. 11, 2009.  There is so much going on this weekend to celebrate World Zombie Day.

So here is my list of things to do to celebrate World Zombie Day.

If you are attending any of the World Zombie Day celebrations please send me photos by clicking here along with your photo send me a report of the event and I will post it on Zombie-Popcorn.com (giving you full credit, of course.) and  we will talk about it on Zombie Popcorn Radio.

In the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area;

• MonsterFest 09 -  I will be attending this event personally, along with Josh and Paul.  We have the OK to interview several of the guest for Zombie Popcorn Radio, so of course, I am really excited about this event.  If you don’t know about MonsterFest here is a blurb.

Monster Fest is an annual celebration of monsters, horror and the macabre in film and literature. The event is held every October, just in time for Halloween. With a strong focus on the gothic horror films of the classic era, Monster Fest provides a fun,  carnival-like environment for monster enthusiasts and the whole family.

•  World Zombie Day Zombie Mall Crawl.  This is the very first Zombie Mall Crawl ever in Norfolk, VA and it is to help promote Evil Dead: The Musical.  The first thing you think of  when you think of Zombies, is the mall.  So of course, it is perfect to have a Zombie crawl inside a mall.  So as the poster says, ‘Join the Army of Darkness’ in this awesome mall take over.   There are also rumors about an un-official zombie critical mass happening after the mall crawl – so don’t forget your bike. Zombie Popcorn will be on the scene talking to people and will broadcast the event on Zombie Popcorn Radio.

World Zombie Day event in other locations.

• In Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh’s first ever outdoor Zombie Fest will set the stage for the fourth annual Walk of the Dead on October 11.  The event will take place at the Monroeville Mall, where director George Romero filmed the original Dawn of the Dead in 1977.  The festivities are part of World Zombie Day, a charity event designed to generate donations for food bank charities and raise awareness of world hunger.

Zombie Fest will begin at 2 PM in the upper level parking lot near the mall annex and includes:

• Live bands and entertainment
• Celebrity appearances
• Zombie Olympics
• Brain eating contest
• Ugly pageant

From 2 PM to 6 PM, zombies may register for the Guinness World Record attempt.  Pittsburgh set the initial record for World’s Largest Zombie Walk and has successfully defended that record for three consecutive years.  Registration is free and open to all ages; zombies are asked to bring non-perishable food donations to benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.  Last year’s walk brought in more than one ton of food donations.

The Walk of the Dead will begin at 6 PM, when walkers enter the mall and begin reenacting scenes from their favorite zombie films.  Professor Emcee Square (aka Mark Menold), host of Pittsburgh’s The It’s Alive Show, will lead the crowd to their destination, where the official photo will be taken to submit to Guinness

Following the walk, all zombies age 21 and over are invited to the Zombie Ball at Houlihan’s inside the mall.  The undead party will feature a DJ and drink specials with no cover charge.

Actor Ken Foree, who starred as Peter Washington in the original Dawn film, will be on hand to meet and greet zombies and take part in the walk.  Mr. Foree serves as Zombie Ambassador for World Zombie Day, assisting with promotion of the charitable event.

For information on World Zombie Day, please visit www.myspace.com/worldzombieday

• In Michigan
  Zombie Walk Detroit is ready for a walk next Saturday in Royal Oak.  Find out more about this walk from Zombie Walk Detroit
• In the UK
  Reports just came in that London will have a zombie crawl – London Zombie Walk
• In Baltimore
  WHEN: October 11th, 2009 from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST
  WHERE: The walk (or shamble, as the case may be) will begin at the Inner Harbor’s Barnes & Noble Booksellers at: 601 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD. It will end at the Geppi Entertainment Museum at Camden Yards.  - Baltimore Zombie Walk
• In Jacksonville, FL
  Where: Downtown Jacksonville – Begins at Twisted Martini in the Jacksonville Landing
  When: October 11, 2009 – 2 pm – Jacksonvill, FL Zombie Walk
• In Seattle, Washington
  Where: Space Needle 400 Broad St Seattle, WA 98109
  When: October 10th, Walk starts at 3pm – Seattle Washington Zombie Walk
• In Manitou Springs, Colorado
  Saturday, October 10th, 2009
  Meet 3 pm for costume help (Soda Springs Park)
  promptly 4 pm for crawl down Manitou Ave
  5 pm – Zombie Social and Party – Manitou Springs, Colorado Zombie Crawl

The current list is over 85 zombie walks and crawls happening this weekend with more added every moment.  So the chances are you will have one happening near you — if not, organize one.

Don’t forget to send me your photos and reports of your World Zombie Day experience!