staff reporter
Check in that closet and see if you can find some old clothes, maybe apply some white makeup and eyeliner and go for a stroll on Friday, Oct. 25.
You may think you’re just fitting in with Maple Ridge, but if you stop in at the Valley Fair Mall, you’ll see dozens dressed the same way, getting ready for Maple Ridge’s first Zombie Walk.
“It’s a fun thing. It doesn’t cost anything to participate,” said Ineke Boekhorst, executive-director with the Downtown Maple Ridge Business Improvement Association.
However, donations of cans of food will be accepted at the mall for the Friends in Need Food Bank.
Boekhorst said zombie walks are popular everywhere and the response to a Maple Ridge event so far is encouraging.
A Facebook page has been set up and 68 people have already said they’d be there. “We’ve had many calls on it. It’s obviously something people want to do. There’s groups out there that dress up as zombies and have their celebrations … just having fun with it.”
The event at Valley Fair Mall goes between 2 and 4 p.m., when Emerald Pig Theatrical Society will be offering face makeup.
The march starts at 4 p.m., and goes from the mall and west to Haney Place Mall to 224th Street and continues to the Dairy Queen at Lougheed Highway and 225th Street, where kids will be able to have some treats.
Businesses along the way will participate. Valley Fair Mall will also have a Halloween Crawl after the walk.
“The businesses are having fun with it. It could be something really fun and the first of maybe an annual event. Something new.”
Zombies are asked to keep a few things in mind, such as the “haunted house” rule, which is don’t touch anyone.
Similarly, they’re asked to avoid confronting or scaring someone who’s not a willing participant. If that happens, turn away and lurch in the other direction.
No booze, drugs or vandalism are allowed and neither can you walk on the road. Stay on the sidewalk and cross intersections safely.