On Thursday October 24, 2013, Main Street Manchester

Photo By Brandon Fern

Photo By Brandon Fern

saw a Zombie outbreak “affect” the town.

The event was originally a fundraiser organized by Carter Chevrolet to replace the Christmas tree destroyed in Hurricane Sandy (costing around $5000), however after a person in Glastonbury donated a tree to the town (leaving around $3500 needed to repair the property), the group decided to shift its focus to the victims of the recent fire that destroyed the homes of residents and business locations.

Kyle Reyes, Director of marketing and event organizer at Carter Chevrolet, started the event 4 months ago. He suggested doing a zombie event “not just to raise money for the tree, but to get the community together as well”. Ed Firestone, head of appropriations for the Rotary Club, wanted to help because the people who were affected by the fire were people he knew.

Mike Esposito said that because Cruising on Main was so successful, they were able to pay for the tree.

Photo By Brandon Fern

Photo By Brandon Fern

The event itself spanned all across main st, certain businesses stayed open to help raise money for the event, some even hosted events and had discounts. Carter Chevrolet and 96.5 WTIC FM had a live broadcast and prize giveaway. Pinewood Furniture held a zombie dance party & Olde Bumside brewery had a beer tasting. Another liquor store, Forest Packaging, had a “Vampire” Wine tasting with the new “Vampire” brand wine.

Manchester Community College was also involved having a zombie open mic night run by Kemet Maroon. Katharine’s Hair Design had zombie make-up touch up done by zombie make-up design expert Shana Bartlett. There were also roaming zombie musicians included John Maze at Bellers music.

Photo By Brandon Fern

Photo By Brandon Fern

Not every store had a special event, some had discounts, and others just stayed open, but every place that was open, event or not, had a sign in their store window or door that said “Zombies Welcome Here”.

For the attendees who weren’t interested in brains only, Hilltop BBQ offered free cups of chili and 50% off mac and cheese.  Bars such as Landmark Café and Oak Street Pub had special drinks such as the Bloody Brain and the Onyx special.

All specials were redeemable and events were free as log you had a ticket (costing $10). All ticket proceeds went to the victims of the fire and there were even food collections sites for those affected.

Photo By Brandon Fern

Photo By Brandon Fern

Overall the event was a huge success. There were a number of zombies roaming the streets, and everyone was just in a great mood. Truly Manchester is a very tight community, seeing as everyone came together for a big event with such a good cause. Let’s just hope the outbreak was contained or else we might have a serious ……….braaaaaaiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnsssss……….