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Zombies of all sorts crawl out for really ghoul time in Youngstown
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Youngstown: Zombie Crawl
YOUNGSTOWN
Hundreds of gruesomely costumed live humans, (fake) wounds leaking blood, unleashed their inner zombies Saturday to shamble and moan and scream their way across the Mahoning Bridge to downtown Youngstown.
There were brides in white and “blood,” enough blood-stained axes to fell a forest, a man calling hoarsely for brains, and even a nun among the undead.
The only thing the event, called the Zombie Crawl, lacked is a song of its own. After all, monsters have a song. Remember the “Monster Mash?”
A zombie, according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, is a person held to resemble the so-called walking dead; it is also an alcoholic mixed drink made of several kinds of rum, liqueur, and fruit juice.
Both were enjoyed Saturday.
People said they had a great time preparing for the ghoulish invasion; and those old enough planned to join the “pub crawl” and catch up with the folks who skipped the zombie bit and got right to the pubbing.
Andrea Delfraino of Poland, Stephanie Urban of Hubbard and Christine Powell of Lowellville, all first-time Zombie Crawlers, were among part of the crowd that gathered Saturday afternoon in the parking lot of the former Anthony’s On-the-River restaurant for a free zombie make-over.
“I love Halloween,” said Delfraino. “My sister did the Zombie Crawl last year, and I told myself I was going to do it this year.”
Powell said Halloween is also one of her favorite holidays. “I like the candy, especially chocolate,” she said.
Urban said she likes everything about Halloween, and an event such as the Zombie Crawl is a great time to hang out with friends.
For Juilia Centofanti and John Sandberg, both sophomores at Struthers High School, the Zombie Crawl was a chance to celebrate their interest in zombies.
They like the “Evil Dead” movies, and Centofanti said she enjoys French zombie movies because they are “more realistic.”
She said she planned to write a story about the event for Student Prints, Struthers High School’s student newspaper.
Leora Martin and Kylia Alexander, both of Austintown, each got a gory wound at the afternoon makeup session. Martin said she likes the “scariness and freakiness” of Halloween.
Sue Jones of Boardman, who did her own costume and makeup, said she had a lot of fun and it was nice to see the community come together for the event.
The Zombie Crawl into downtown ended with a performance by Thrill the World Youngstown dancing its version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Then it was time for the pub crawl.
Some of the drinks advertised were the Blood Bomb, Zombie Bombs, Brain Shot, Vampire Bite and the Black Cat.
The event, which also included self-guided tours of Oak Hill Cemetery sponsored by the Mahoning County Historical Society, was sponsored by the Neighborhood Improvement Corp.
Proceeds from this year’s event will go to the Community Tool Shed, an organization that loans tools to residents.