Do you like bars/pubs?
Do you like Zombies?
Even if you answer no to all of these questions, I am fairly certain you can like or appreciate the Zombie Pub Crawl.
According to friend testimonies and Wikipedia the Zombie Pub Crawl started in Minneapolis (that is one of the cities in Minnesota if you are just joining us) in 2005. The Crawl has become a well established and well attended event since it started.
Before we analyze this spectacular event let me give you the story of my first run in with the Zombie Pub Crawlers.
The year is 2008 and I was playing at the Bedlam (another great post on its own, with great stories). I was somewhat confused that people were at our show dressed up like zombies, but I thought, "oh well, we are a hardcore punk band, there is a huge crust city the Bedlam's mission is "is to produce radical works of theater with a focus on collaboration and a unique blend of professional and community art." Zombies hanging out at shows seem to be part of radical theater. I just enjoyed the images, makeup and costumes and considered it a fluke.
A little later in the evening, before we played our set, we decided to head to the Triple Rock (not the Baptist Church from Blues Brothers) for food and drink. Walking outside I saw zombies everywhere. I realized then that the plot of Night Of The Living Dead, Shaun Of The Dead, or any other zombie movie was now a reality. Although these zombies weren't trying to eat my brains, they were just looking for a drink, probably after a long day of eating brains.
I was told it was the Zombie Pub Crawl and it made perfect sense that something like this would happen in Minneapolis. We do awesome stuff like this here.
Why is a Zombie Pub Crawl a good thing? Why do I even have to ask that question? Sure zombies have been cool for a long time. They are similar to ninjas, pirates, robots, and dinosaurs. All of these things have their moments of being hip and the cycle always comes back to them, but this seemed to move beyond that.
For once we could have zombies roam areas and get a drink with a human rather than just passing you on the street or eating your brains. Instead of a typical Zombie Walk where you gather a large amount of zombies in one place, the Zombie Pub Crawl participants freely make their way between pubs and interact with the rest of the population like they are a part of it.
If none of this means anything to you, at least admire the costume and makeup creativity and talent that goes into some of these zombie outfits.
Also, if you can't get enough zombie action in one pub crawl a year, feel free to stop by Donny Dirk's Zombie Den in Minneapolis.
What kind of zombie traditions has your non-undead city started?