You know it’s getting close to Halloween season when the Vancouver Zombie Walk takes place in Vancouver and zombies take over the downtown streets.
Zombies in Vancouver
The annual Vancouver Zombie Walk has taken place in mid-September in past years but in 2017 the procession of the walking dead happened on the Saturday of August 26th.
EVENT NO LONGER HAPPENING?
NOTE: Future dates and details are to be confirmed. The event’s official website is no longer active as of the summer of 2019. As a result, the event very likely is no longer happening.
What to Expect
Most years thousands of people turn out to admire up to a couple of hundred ghoulish characters ranging from downright scary, to professional-quality, to “I-swear-it-really-is-a-zombie,” to people wearing just a bit of fake blood.
Overall, the sight is impressive. Expect to see lots of gore, some amazing makeup, crowds of onlookers, and dozens of walking, moaning and stumbling zombies.
Zombie Walk Video
To get an idea of the quality of zombie costumes and what to expect, check out the video of zombie characters from 2016 below.
What Happens and Where
Wanna-be zombies and their friends and supporters meet outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on the day of the event starting at 3 pm. From 3 pm until 4 pm people admire the costumes, lots of photos and selfies are taken, and a fair bit of fake blood gets spilled in the plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. At 4 o’clock sharp the procession begins.
The Vancouver Zombie Walk starts outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on Robson Street in the plaza just off Howe Street. At 4 pm the procession of zombies and onlookers begins with folk setting off down Robson Street for an hour or so walk to English Bay. Traffic comes to a near standstill as thousands of people and zombies fill the streets along Robson Street before turning up Denman Street and then finishing at English Bay near the corner of Denman and Davie.
Provided that you like Halloween, scary costumes and large crowds, the Vancouver Zombie Walk is a fantastic event. It’s free, it’s entertaining, the walk is good exercise and the event is a great excuse for people to dress up, look scary and walk in the middle of Vancouver’s downtown streets along with hundreds of other like-minded wanna-be zombies!
TIP: Some small children participate in the event with their parents and have fun, but it’s not something every small child will enjoy. If your child is the least bit timid, unless you don’t want them to be able to sleep without nightmares for a few weeks, maybe avoid Robson Street, Denman Street and English Bay in the afternoon of the Vancouver Zombie Walk.
Other Information
If you enjoy this kind of thing, then also check out the Thrill the World Vancouver event in late October when as many as 100 zombies or more dance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. It’s a sight to see!
