ZOMBIES were out in force on Saturday evening, converting the cityscape to a scene from a “horror” movie for the Mount Gambier Zombie Walk, which helped raise over $1500 for the South East Junction.
From adults to children and pets, there was a zombie of every kind staggering through the streets of the city on Saturday evening.
Around 70 people, dressed in different costumes and covered in gory make-up, gathered at Vansittart Park for the start of the walk to the Cave Gardens at 7pm.
Organiser Kylie Bamford said the weather caused numbers to be down slightly, however she was impressed with the efforts of those who attended.
“What we had there was just amazing,” Ms Bamford said.
“People really went all out this year and the costumes just absolutely blew me away.”
The night helped raise a significant boost for The South East Junction Mental Health Activity and Resource Centre, which assists people living with mental illness.
Ms Bamford said the theme of the evening was to highlight mental illness and how important it is to look after each other.
“I know there were people who attended who deal with anxiety and this event gave them the opportunity to dress up and be someone different for a day,” Ms Bamford said.
“I spoke to the group before the walk and just made it clear that they are all beautiful people.”
With entertainment and prizes awarded at the Cave Gardens, Ms Bamford said the eighth annual walk was well received.
“It looked like people had a really good time, we are a bit restricted in what we can do, but we had prizes and a few things happening to keep the crowd entertained,” she said.
“It was really hard to judge best dressed because there were so many incredible costumes.”
The walk was restricted to the footpaths – something Ms Bamford hoped the council would change in years to come.
“All the other zombie walks in Australia have the roads closed so they can walk in one direction,” she said.
We do our best to keep the walk safe, but I really hope the council will back us in the future to close the road because there are children and families involved.
“The walk itself would only take around 15 minutes if we were able to walk along the street.”
