They started arriving at Monroeville Mall at 9 AM and didn’t stop for nearly two hours. Zombies, young and old, shambling and moaning for brains while bearing food donations for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
Led by Professor Emcee Square (organizer Mark Menold, producer and host of The It’s Alive Show), the horde of zombies slowly made their way from one end of the mall to the other. In the end, the total number of zombies who signed in was 1,124, surpassing last year’s Guinness World Record™ attendance by more than 25%. Pending verification by Guinness, this represents a new world record.
“We were pretty sure we would top our old number” said Menold. “Other cities, including London, Toronto, San Diego and Orlando, have tried but haven’t even come close.” Next year, Menold proposes holding a Global Zombie Walk Day with simultaneous walks in cities worldwide benefiting charities in each city. The Monroeville walk generated 1,229 pounds of food for the GPCFB.
The Zombie Walk was part of Pittsburgh’s first Zombie Weekend, which included a two-day zombie-themed convention at the Pittsburgh ExpoMart featuring vendor exhibits, films, gaming tournaments, author discussion panels, zombie makeup demonstrations by the Tom Savini Special Make-Up Effects Program of the Douglas Education Center and celebrity guests from the original George Romero films Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead (filmed in Monroeville Mall) and Day of the Dead. The keynote presentation of The It’s Alive! Zombie Fest was by Max Brooks, author of The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z.
The Zombie Ball on Saturday night, sponsored by Straub Beer and featuring the bands The Ubangis, The Forbidden 5, Motorpsychos and Deathmobile (house band of The It’s Alive Show), also included a silent auction which generated $1,000 for the Pittsburgh affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer research foundation.
Other charities benefiting from the weekend’s activities were the Animal Rescue League and Central Blood Bank.
Menold is pleased to report that “Zombie Fest was a huge success. Our mission going into the Fest was for our sponsors, vendors, guests, staff and attendees to have fun and help out local charities, and we accomplished that mission.”
The It’s Alive! 2007 Zombie Fest was presented by WBGN-TV and Twilight Creations, and hosted by Professor Emcee Square and the cast of The It’s Alive Show. Also sponsored in part by Pittsburgh East Nissan, Straub Beer, Monster Mini Golf, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Permuted Press, Incredibly Strange Video and Trash Palace.
