My city is weird. Presenting for your consideration...

[Antisocial_Worker]

Read this. Don't argue, just do it.

For some reason, the organizers of the Asheville Zombie Walk have a knack for scheduling it on the same day as other area events. The last time they held a zombie walk, which attracted about 700 participants (and which got it shut down the next year for not having a parade permit), it coincided with a major political rally. This ended hilariously, because the pundit speaking at the Asheville Civic Center was from a political party not known for its ability to appreciate... "unusualness" in the human condition. Thus, when my friends and I hit the streets in our green makeup and stage blood, and then went to a Denny's afterward that was thronged with members of said political party, we made a splash. Asheville is an odd place, and those political party members, most of them from various small towns in the region, were definitely giving thought to that reputation. They looked quite frightened, in fact.

Anyway, this year the zombie walk -- parade permit in severed hand -- is back on. And this year it coincides with some sort of crystal power vortex... thingy.

A quote:

“Pack Square’s famous Vance Obelisk and the quartz deposits beneath Pack Square will magnify deep resonance and connect to the inner planetary crystalline network to magnify the conscious experience of this event. ...Master of Ceremonies David Chim will lead us with Sacred Toning. Simultaneously you’ll be taking a journey into the deep depths of your Being within your own Heart by doing a guided meditation with the ‘Virtuous Tone Master X (David Chim)’ using sound with our own voice YOU will begin to discover the innate gifts within that are extremely powerful and absolutely unique for your spiritual growth and understanding of the Light. Local Elders will share uplifting messages, sing peace songs and musicians will perform harmonic music to nourish the soul.”

...And naturally various gurus and Native American shamans will be on hand. As well they should be. You don't want this kind of thing spiralling out of control. It would also not surprise me in the least to learn that the area witch covens, of which there are many, will have representatives on hand. This event is taking place in Pack Square, just up the hill from their last major victory, wherein they danced around a 150-year-old magnolia tree threatened by development and cast spells on it and eventually ended up getting the developer to drop the plans for the high-rise he'd planned to build on the site. The magnolia tree in question is located just to one side of City Hall, if you were interested.

So yeah... weird here. I love it.

[Amina516]

Thats awesome!! LOL

I just hope the Vortex doesnt turn you all into real zombies....

[malmalthekiller]

That makes it more fun!

There's a Zombie walk in Asbury park on October 30th that my boyfriend and I are trying to attend.

Should be fun.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Ahhhhh~~!

...
thatisamazingandiloveit!
I totally want to be a zombie now! I can just picture the looks on those political-types' faces....

[Jester]

If you like weird, you would love Key West. Especially our upcoming Fantasy Fest. Which will be followed by the Parrotheads and then the powerboat racers.

And then, of course, we have the Hemingway lookalikes, the bed races, the drag queen races, of course the drag queens, clothing optional bars, body painting, stale cuban bread naval battles, secession from the Union, Battle of the Bars, imprisoned wives of disgraces public officials, disgraced public officials (but everyone has those), proposed nude beaches, street performers, six-toed cats, and swingers' conventions, among other things.

There are many varied reasons this place is often called Key Weird!

[teh_blumchenkinder]

... *snerk*
"Drag Queen Races."
Makes them sound like greyhounds or horses.
... >_>
EDIT: Jester! You need to change your avvie for Octoberrrr~ October's nearly over!/whine ( iknowitreallyisn'tbutitfeelslikeit)

[Jester]

"Drag Queen Races."
Makes them sound like greyhounds or horses.

And your point is? They are actually billed as "Drag Races," and are part of April's Conch Republic Independence Days Celebration. And they are exactly what they sound like....drag queens racing through an obstacle course. Usually in ridiculously high heels, often platforms. Ridiculous and fun. Just like Key West.

Jester! You need to change your avvie for Octoberrrr~

Yes, I do. And now I have. Thanks for the reminder.

[Antisocial_Worker]

Well, that was fun... According to estimates from the Asheville Police Department, between 1500 and 2000 zombies took to the streets last night in downtown Asheville. They closed off the streets for us, and we went for our walk right through the middle of town, with crowds lining the sidewalks taking our pictures. Much fun... Although considering that my friends and I made our fake blood out of Karo syrup, cocoa powder, and red food coloring, I'm still getting phantom whiffs of cocoa even this morning. That, and my boyfriend and I used rice for maggots and by the end of the night the maggots had migrated to all sorts of unusual places.

After the walk, we forewent the zombie pub crawl and instead went to get some dinner. Half of our group went to Denny's, and the other half, of which I was a part, went for pizza. Turned out that we were far from alone, much to the consternation of several families of tourists -- especially one sitting at the next table over from us who kept asking the waitress what was going on and if it was really safe to be there at that moment.

Before I forget though... the crystal power vortex harmonic convergence... thingy. In between the walk and going for pizza we headed up to Pack Square to see what was going on with that. It turned out that everyone gathering for that event had done so down the hill in the main part of Pack Square Park and they'd filled it. The musicians had filled the stage there in front of the courthouse and city hall, and you could hear the sitar music from two blocks away. The park was filled with people dancing and spinning glowing hula hoops. Over the musicians, from the elaborate metal framework snaking over top of the columns behind the stage hung a big banner that read: 10:10:10 Global Peace Gathering & Star Gate Portal Opening just as advertised. At one point, a car driving through the park stopped and waved us over to ask what was going on. One of my friends replied that it was a religious gathering. The lady in the car got a horrified look on her face -- perhaps she had not seen us in the light until we approached the car -- and then asked in a wheezy voice, "Are you all worshiping the devil?!"

And now, here are pictures I took of the event. Look for the ninja in blue. I took a picture of him from behind, but he'd done himself up with throwing stars protruding from his face. I'm in the pictures too, of course, alongside the boyfriend. Be on the lookout also for a zombie Ronald McDonald, and a zombie Waffle House waiter. The last time they held a zombie walk, a zombie IHOP waitress showed up.

Here are pictures the newspaper took. The Asheville Citizen-Times got a lot of great pictures, including several that I didn't get a chance to capture because my camera is too crummy to do a good job of catching people in motion. Be on the lookout for the headless guy and a zombie Best Buy employee. He kept swatting at people with a sheaf of bloody advertising flyers.

[Amina516]

I LOVE the zombie kids!! Lol.

Great pics! If I was ever in the area during one of those, Id participate for sure.

One of my friends replied that it was a religious gathering. The lady in the car got a horrified look on her face -- perhaps she had not seen us in the light until we approached the car -- and then asked in a wheezy voice, "Are you all worshiping the devil?!"

There had to be at least one....

[MoonCat]

Hey that sounds really cool! I would have paid to see the looks on the political rally folks' faces!

Reminds me of the time there was a Sci-Fi convention here in town. The same hotel was hold ing a Shriner's convention. You haven't lived until you've seen three guys dressed as Klingons--and I mean full makeup, costumes, the whole nine yards and professional-quality stuff....getting into an elevator with a couple of Shriners complete with fez (fezzes?)

[Antisocial_Worker]

Yay! At last there's a video where I appear! I and the boyfriend shamble by at about the 1:14 mark of this video.

Meanwhile here's a video of the Star Gate portal/vortex thingy. By the time my friends and I arrived after dark the crowd was bigger and the music and dancing had started.

[Amina516]

LOL!!! I love the BF's walk. Very authentic.