STORY AND PHOTOS BY DYLAN PAISLEY
Zombies ravaged the city of Toronto last Saturday at the annual zombie walk.
On Oct. 26, the 11th Toronto Zombie Walk was held at Nathan Phillips Square.
The festivities started at noon with the zombie market, a small group of vendors selling fake blood, makeup and T-shirts. At 2 p.m. there was a costume contest and a preshow which ended with an undead Michael Jackson and his zombie back up dancers performing the zombie hit “Thriller.” From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., there was the zombie walk parade, which started at Nathan Phillips Square.
“They’re walking too slow,” said Adelaide Kaufmann during the parade.
After the walk there was a post-walk costume contest, and a concert by The Independence and by 7 p.m., the zombie market was closed.
The costumes for the zombie walk were creative and, most of all, gory. There were great mash up costumes like zombie sailor scouts, the Joker, being led by a chained-up zombie version of Harley Quinn and a zombie Borat in
his famous green bathing suit.
“We love dressing up as zombies. We do it for Halloween,” said Borana Makri ,dressed up as a zombified Sailor Venus. “Our makeup took three or four hours and the costumes were bought as is.”
Freelance makeup and prosthetics artist Piper Taratuta has been at four zombie walks. She does makeup for zombie walk’s funding director Thea Munster and her husband Adam Invader.
“My favorite memory from the zombie walk is from the first year that I did makeup for Thea. I remember applying her makeup while she was being interviewed by reps from the Space Channel for a Halloween episode on one of their interview shows. She made sure that I was represented as her makeup artist and that I was given screen time as well. Afterwards I had time to do my own makeup and join in on the walk. It was my first time walking and it was so much fun seeing all the people come out and participate in this wonderfully random event,” said Taratuta.
Two years ago, Taratuta was asked by Munster to do her makeup for her wedding to husband Adam. They got married at the zombie walk in full zombie makeup. Taratuta also did the makeup for movies such as Resident Evil: Afterlife and Pacific Rim. Even with the harsh wind, the rain and only being 5 degrees, the Toronto zombie walk had another successful year.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation is promoting its new campaign “ CPR makes you undead,” during October. The foundation is giving free CPR classes. So far this campaign has taught more than 10,000 people CPR and has saved more than 50 lives.
For more information, visit the website for the zombie walk. For more information on The Heart and Stroke Foundation, visit their website. Check out this link for more information on the CPR makes you undead campaign. Also check out the photo gallery of the zombie walk.
http://storify.com/paisleyd/zombies-storming-the-streets-of-toronto