The streets will be stalked by the undead today. The brains of Prince George will be in peril as skull hungry zombies drag their feet all over the downtown.
Activities get underway at
9 a.m. for the second annual P.G. Zombie Fest. Local artisans, food vendors, entertainers and games will be going on at city hall and it carries on until 5 p.m.
Many zombies will arrive in getup prepared at home, but it is also possible to get your zomb on with the on-site costume and makeup stations.
The day is dotted with opportunities to meet television actor Juan Pareja, who played the recurring character Morales on the hit series The Walking Dead. He has also acted in The Mist, Machete, Fort Bliss, single appearances on a number of popular network shows (Castle, The Mentalist, Hawaii Five-O, CSI: New York and others), and most recently in the star-studded cast of the TV series Goliath. He is also in the cast of the soon-to-be-released movie Boone: The Bounty Hunter. Pareja will meet the fans with a live interview at 9:15 a.m. at city hall and will be signing autographs at two sessions: 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
One of biggest elements of the festival - a kind of cosplay Halloween in the summer - happens when the clock chimes 12 times like the starting gun for the apocalyptic parade.
"At high noon, the dead will awaken at Prince George City Hall," said a statement from organizers Mindy Colliss and Lori Trupp. "Zombies have invaded and will they will weave a path along the streets where bloody participants can practice their best moans for 'braaaaaains.'
There is also a philanthropic component to the walk. The route is 2.4 km long and, said organizers, is the hunting ground for Operation Infection.
"Kidnapping of nominated humans will happen during the day and they will be brought back to the 'infected area' until they have raised enough blood and brains to be released. Proceeds to local charities," Trupp and Colliss said.
The event plods on at zombie speed until 5 p.m. when the energy kicks in at Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park. All zombies are invited to the Sound Of Summer outdoor music event where a zombie dance will be part of the free rock show.
