The Cool Spring Downtown District, in partnership with Back-A-Round Records, is hosting downtown’s 12th annual Zombie Walk & Prom event on Friday, Oct. 28, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. 

“While thousands of people attend the Zombie Walk & Prom downtown each year, we realize not many folks know the true origin story of how it came into being,” CSDD’s president and CEO Bianca Shoneman stated in a press release, “and we thought it would be appropriate to share that interesting history with the public ahead of this year’s event.”

Christina Cole, Kristi Howard, and Katrina Rubiera came together in 2010 to plan what they originally called the “Zombie Walk/Jazz Funeral.”

Howard and Rubiera shared with CSDD that Cole originally came up with the idea of organizing a jazz funeral to pay respects to her own mother after her death. Around the same time, these women learned several tombstones had been vandalized in downtown’s historic Cross Creek Cemetery, and they collectively decided to use the event as an opportunity to raise funds for building a fence around the cemetery.

After also learning zombie walks/proms had proven to be quite popular in other states, Cole, Howard, and Rubiera combined their ideas and planned the inaugural Zombie Walk/Jazz Funeral for Oct. 22, 2010.

Rubiera shared her own reflections on the trio’s decisions behind the event in a press release: “It could have been another missed opportunity for Fayetteville, because it was nontraditional. As a community, we often look to the past, tried and true, and shun new ideas. We saw this as an opportunity to move forward–bringing younger people downtown for a really good cause, not to mention being good stewards of our community.”

Howard and Rubiera also give credit to many other artists and volunteers for pooling their resources, talents, and funds to make certain that the first event was a success. Howard shared they had originally expected perhaps 50 people would attend, but to their surprise approximately 2,500 people gathered for the kick off.

They received $800 in donations which they turned in the next day to help ensure Fayetteville’s most historic cemetery could be secured.

Following the initial success, Cole, Howard, and Rubiera turned over the entire event concept, allowing downtown and others to continue the tradition and profit off it.

As Shoneman expressed in a press release, “Our downtown wouldn’t have such a signature event for Halloween if it weren’t for three women who thought outside the box and cared about bringing a new tradition to our community, and I’m so grateful to them for being such innovators, leaving a legacy behind.”

This year’s Zombie Walk & Prom event will take place on Friday, Oct. 28. The Paul Mitchell School will be face-painting during the Zombie Pre-Party, with vendors, artists, performers, and more onsite. Live performances will then take place from Lotus Sun and the Living Dead and Nirvani, a Nirvana cover band. More information can be found on the event’s Facebook page.