The Nevada Sagebrush

Zombie Crawl inspires hordes of undead to visit downtown Reno bars

Photo illustration by Garrett Valenzuela/Nevada Sagebrush

Saturday, the streets of downtown Reno will be overrun with zombies enjoying Halloween festivities, local businesses and, of course, plenty of inexpensive alcoholic beverages.

This will be the fourth year Reno has hosted a Zombie Crawl. Similar to other local pub crawls, the Zombie Crawl will start after dark and provide participants with cups, maps to nearby businesses and drink specials for a $5 entry fee. Unlike other pub crawls, those participating in the Zombie Crawl will be covered in open sores, oozing blood and rotting flesh.

“It’s more like a themed party,” said Ed Adkins, a former University of Nevada, Reno student and organizer of the Reno Zombie Crawl, Vampire Crawl and Superhero Crawl. “It’s one big party throughout the city. When people are in costume, it’s more of a shared experience. You feel like you’re a part of what’s going on. When you’re walking around, you can tell who else is a part of this thing. Doing that creates more community than your average night out on the town.”

Around the world, zombie crawls have become a popular Halloween event. These organized public gatherings of people dressed in zombie costumes are usually held in big cities from Sacramento, Calif. to Stockholm. The first recorded zombie crawl was a sort of flash mob parade of zombies through Sacramento in 2001. Since then, such walks have gathered as many as 8,000 participants.

In Reno, the Zombie Crawl began in 2008. About 300 people attended the first crawl. In 2009, the number jumped to about 2,400 and has been growing steadily each subsequent year.

“The first year, we were kind of nervous when 7:30 rolled around and no one was there,” Adkins said. “Then, all of a sudden, people started streaming in. There were zombie newlyweds and military folks hunting zombies – everything ranging from gruesome to funny. The next year, there were so many people, I had to grab a map that I found on the floor and run down to Kinko’s to make more copies.”

Several of the participating businesses will offer other advantages to pub-crawlers in addition to the drink specials.

“A lot of the participating bars get into the event to add to the evening,” Adkins said. “Sometimes they’ll play around with the theme by dressing up as zombie hunters or something.”

The Knitting Factory Concert House will host a costume contest to win $1,000, The Waterfall Bar will host a similar contest to win a keg and St. James Infirmary will sell limited edition Zombie Crawl T-shirts.

One goal of the pub crawls is to involve and support local businesses.

“The crawls are a big part of our business,” said Mairin Tausch, merchandise manager of The Melting Pot World Emporium, which is one of the spots the Zombie Crawl recommends as a costume retailer. “It’s unique to Reno culture that we have these fancy dress-up pub crawls. It’s cool that Reno participates in things that literally show our colors.”

Many agree that the appeal of a themed pub crawl is largely dependent on the opportunity to dress up in a personalized costume and assume a different persona for the duration of the evening.

“People love to dress up,” Tausch said. “Clothing is one of the most obvious and immediate forms of self-expression. It’s the most accessible way for people to participate in something.”

The Zombie Crawl will start out with a group performance of the dance routine from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video. The dance will take place in the street in front of CommRow on Virginia Street under the Reno Arch. Dancers have been rehearsing every Thursday since Sept. 22 in hopes of breaking a world record. The Reno Zombie Crawl is an official participant in Thrill the World, an organization setting up a simultaneous “Thriller” performance all over the world on Saturday.

Although the event is heavily focused on providing fun festivities for participants, it also hopes to have a positive impact on the community, Adkins said. The proceeds from $50 all-you-can-drink cup sales will be donated to the Northern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross. The Zombie Crawl aims to donate at least $9,000 to the cause.

Additionally, the Zombie Crawl emphasizes safe drinking. The crawl has organized with the Silver Legacy Resort Casino to offer a $55 special room rate to avoid having crawlers drive home after a night of drinking.

“I want to stress that, although a lot of people come out for a fun time, we encourage responsibility,” Adkins said. “You can go downtown and stay downtown so you don’t have to worry.”

Overall, Adkins said the event brings the community together and has had very few safety problems in the past.

“It’s super cool,” he said. “Every year, we attract fun, good-natured partiers. Everyone is very welcoming. You don’t see fights or tension like you would find in a packed bar. Instead, you see everyone having the time of their lives. Everybody feels like friends.”

What: Reno Zombie Crawl

Where: Start locations include CommRow, The Underground, Pioneer Underground and other downtown Reno spots.

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Cost: $5 for a cup and map.

What: Pre-Zombie Crawl Thriller Dance

Where: ReTrac in front of CommRow

Corner of Virginia St. and Commercial Row.

When: 6 p.m. Saturday

Register to perform Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” dance. Practice will be held at 8 p.m. Thursday.

Purchase an all-you-can-drink cup for $50, which will buy up to 30 drinks valued at $5 each. All proceeds will go to the Northern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross.

For more information, visit RenoZombieCrawl.com or find it on Facebook and Twitter.

Casey O’Lear can be reached at colear@nevadasagebrush.com.

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