Many of you have shared your MZM2012 photos in our Flickr pool. There are so many great images there! Here’s just a sampling. (Clicking a photo takes you to the photographer’s Flickr page for that image.)
Got a favorite bar or restaurant or store that wouldn’t mind displaying a stack of handbills to get the word out for Memphis Zombie Massacre 2012? Click the link below to get a PDF, print, cut, and go nuts!
I wanted to go ahead and announce something really cool. Archer>malmo, a local marketing firm, has informed us that they will be donating $200 in our name to the Mid-South Food Bank. That’s an awesome boost to our first-time fundraising efforts. Whatever food items we collect and contribute after that will make our drive all the more successful. So thanks to them for their generosity!
Archer>malmo will be looking for enthusiastic zombies the day of the walk to help them film PSA shots for a railway safety campaign. Here’s the call from Adrienne with archer>malmo:
Attention zombies! We need zombies for a video shoot from 4:30-6 pm before the massacre on May 27. We’ll meet at the Farmer’s Market staging area at 4:30 pm and will film in surrounding areas – you’ll be done in time for the massacre. Please email ASAP if you want to join in the fun.
WHAT
The Memphis Zombie Massacre (or attack or walk or crawl or whatever you want to call it*) is back for its fourth year. Here are the details. Please bookmark this post or share it or tweet it or pass it along to others who might need or want a refresher, since some things are different this year.
WHEN
Friday, May 28, at 6:30 p.m.
This means we’re stepping off at 6:30 p.m., so get there early. You’ll probably want to get there early anyway, since it’s art trolley night in Memphis, meaning lots of people will be out and about and in YOUR parking spot if you don’t get there first!
WHERE AND HOW This is a slight change from last year. Instead of gathering on Beale Street at the New Daisy, we’re going to invade Beale Street from the west. Which means we’re gathering at South Main and GE Patterson, around Ernestine & Hazel’s and that little alley adjacent to it. Remember that this is an active street with cars and trolleys on it, so please don’t block traffic as you’re waiting around. You do not want to be yelled at by an officer on a Segway, I promise you that.
Here’s a handy map of the route:
Note that we will be traveling the west side of South Main, north to Beale, then east on Beale.
You’ll be on the lookout for these guys to mark the way:
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ZOMBIES, LEND ME YOUR SEVERED EARS: Traditionally the turnout is so awesome that we’ve got hundreds and hundreds of people dragging their busted corpse limbs along the route, getting caught at red lights and whatnot. PLEASE remember that you are part of a teeming mass, so don’t go running up ahead of the pack like a rage-infected zombie. I mean, maybe you do have the rage, but maybe you could slow it down a bit and not run full tilt, leaving your limping brethren and sisteren behind. It helps keep up the illusion of an invasion if the horde stays together. So try to think of it as a team effort and restrain yourself. THANK YOU. I’ll stop using my mommy voice now.
The walk ends at Fourth and Beale, so don’t go traipsing across Fourth unless you want to go haunt the shell of the Plush Club. So come on back to Beale or down to E&H. There’s no official afterparty, so feel free to go nuts wherever you want, really.
KIDS?
We have plenty of zombie families that like to join us. All we ask is that you don’t subject your kid to something he or she isn’t going to be able to handle or that you’re not going to take the time to explain.
GETTING ZOMBIFIED
Please note the lot in the map designated as the area where we’ll be offering makeup help. Last year we had a TON of people line up for makeup jobs, and unfortunately our window of time (more than two hours) didn’t allow for us to get to everyone who wanted help. This year our ability to zombify the masses on site will be lessened somewhat, so please, if you can, come already made up. Or bring your own gear and help make yourself and others up on site. The best part of a zombie walk is seeing how crazy creative you can be with your own makeup and effects, so show us what you’ve got! Thank you in advance.
If you don’t want to come already zombified, you have the option of being devoured by the teeming masses. Here’s how you would achieve that:
Easy, right? Just come clearly marked with a duct-tape X, and hang out along the route. Protip: The later in the route you pop up, the less likely you are to be zombified. This is simply because our (understandably) overzealous zombies tend to run out of their extra blood-n-gore rations early in the walk. So consider hanging out on the first leg of the walk to be zombified. Although, honestly, seeing some people get eaten on Beale Street would be pretty fine, too. So do whatever you want, just know your odds.
WHICH LEADS ME TO THIS! We need lots of zombies to come armed with a bottle or two of fake blood they can hang on to and ration during the walk, so that our duct-taped friends can be sure to get in on the action. There are lots of ways to make your own blood, or you can buy it at any local costume/party retailer.
SOMETHING KINDA DIFFERENT
I don’t want to give too much away, but keep an eye on Club 152 on Beale during the walk. It should be THRILLING.
RULES AND GUIDELINES
We will be operating on a public assembly/parade permit issued by the city of Memphis, with the blessing of the South Main Association, the police, and Performa (the company that manages Beale Street). This basically means that we need to behave ourselves so that we can continue to come back every year without the kind of civic drama that has happened in some other cities.
So that means:
• No harassing or touching or spraying gore at bystanders who are not clearly marked to be part of the walk.
• No scaring children who clearly aren’t into it.
• No messing with property that isn’t yours. This means cars, store fronts, news stands, etc. Don’t damage stuff that’s not yours.
• No blocking traffic. This is in some ways inevitable, but in the past we have been able to manage ourselves and abide, more or less, by the whims of the crosswalk lights, and everything has turned out swimmingly.
• No boozin’ it up during the walk. We know people do it anyway, but please be judicious and don’t get too crazed.
• No entering galleries or shops while all gored up. This is mostly a practical request; we don’t want a spate of businesses bitching about the kids who tracked blood in on their nice floors.
• Don’t break the law. You’re undead, but they will still throw your ass in jail.
FIND US ONLINE, PROMOTE US ONLINE
We are all over the internet. Find us:
Be sure to follow us on Twitter for the latest updates the day of the walk. Sometimes plans change at the last minute and Twitter will be the place where those announcements will be made first.
Here’s our flyer. Click the link and then hit the “all sizes” button to download it. Then spread the word!
GET GORY
Here is a quick and easy way to zombify your face:
