Read All About Our Zombie Invasion in the Kane Co. Chronicle
Zombies to roam in Batavia
Published: Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 5:30 a.m. CDT • Updated: Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 4:15 p.m. CDT
(Sandy Bressner - sbressner@shawmedia.com)
By ASHLEY RHODEBECK - arhodebeck@shawmedia.com
BATAVIA – Watching a sea of people dressed as zombies dancing in downtown Batavia last October was, as Joi Cuartero described, “really quite a sight.”
This year, the Batavia MainStreet executive director said she thinks the zombie crowd for Saturday’s BatFest will be bigger than last year’s few hundred.
Although the evening Zombie Walk is geared toward the teen and adult crowd, Cuartero said the annual autumn festival includes several daytime activities for children.
“BatFest is our free family event,” she said. “We have kids activities and games, some entertainment on the main stage. We’ve got a costume contest, tractor-pull hayrides.”
Held downtown rain or shine, BatFest – which advertises “a frightfully good time” – begins at 10 a.m. with a pumpkin roll, farmers market and games. Children can trick-or-treat at more than a dozen businesses along River Street, Wilson Street, Island Avenue and Batavia Avenue.
New this year is the River City Church photo booth, where kids can get their picture taken and make a frame for the photo, Cuartero said. It will be at the MainStreet tent.
Other daytime activities include stories and songs at 11:15 a.m. at Batavia Public Library and an 11:45 a.m. Halloween parade guided by the Batavia Mothers’ Club with a police escort.
Zombie Walk registration and zombie makeovers for the first 300 participants are set from noon to 2 p.m. at the Riverwalk.
The cost is $10 and includes walk participation, the zombie makeover and a raffle ticket for zombie-related prizes. Additional raffle tickets cost $1 each or $5 for six.
The walk benefits Batavia Music Buffs, S.T.A.G.E. booster organizations, Studio – Batavia visual arts booster – and Batavia MainStreet.
Starting at 4 p.m., Zombie Walk participants are to gather at one of three quarantine zones – Music Matters on Wilson Street, Nyborg and Company on Webster Street and the Old Church on McKee Street.
The walk is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. Volunteers will lead the three groups on different routes to the Peg Bond Center.
“The best time to see everything would be right before 6 p.m., when they all come up Island Avenue,” Cuartero said.
Makeup and certain clothes – those that are tattered and dirty – will help participants look the part, she said, but slow movements are also key to sell the appearance of being a traditional zombie.
“We have a lot of excited teenagers who want to get [to the Peg Bond Center] right away,” she said.
A zombie dance party will be at the Peg Bond Center after the walk. The Batavia Academy of Dance will teach the dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
Visit www.downtownbatavia.com or call 630-761-3528 for information.