The 2011 Zombie Invasion Schedule

Zombies make their appearances here and there all through the year, but you will see more of them this month. Between World Zombie Day on October 8 and Halloween on October 31, the nation and even the world will be crawling with zombies. If you are a zombie (or want to be one), find out where you should be and when with this handy guide to zombie walks, parades, dances, pub crawls, festivals, and gatherings.

Pittsburgh Zombiefest 2007 photograph by Flickr user Jim Reynolds.

A few zombie gatherings were observed last weekend, but the real season of the undead begins with World Zombie Day on October 8. Pittsburgh held a world record zombie gathering in 2006 that was also a food collection effort. Out of that experience, Mark Menold, one of the hosts of The It's Alive Show founded World Zombie Day in 2008 in order to coordinate zombie efforts to stock local food banks in cities all over the world. In Pittsburgh this year, the annual Zombiefest on October 8 from noon until 9PM will attempt to set a new world record for the number of zombies gathered, and once again collect non-perishable food items for The Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank.

Minneapolis Pub Crawl 2008 photograph by Flickr user Andrew Wong.

The Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota Zombie Pub Crawl on October 8 is called "A Terror of Two Cities." Participating venues have an extensive lineup of live music scheduled.

Jacksonville Zombie Walk 2009 photograph by Flickr user ernestkoe.

Zombies will also be invading the cities of Jacksonville, Florida, Adelaide, Australia, and Shreveport, Louisiana on Saturday, October 8.

Detroit Zombie Walk 2007 photograph by Flickr user Wigwam Jones.

Zombie Walk Detroit takes place on Sunday, October 9 to benefit Gleaners Community Food Bank. Children and dogs are welcome as well as adults, but you have to dress like a zombie, unless you already look like a zombie!

The Baltimore Art & Music Project is hosting Zombies in the Park on Saturday, October 15. In addition to live music, food, and other normal festival events, there will be a special appearance by a zombie from Dawn of the Dead and zombie makeup tutorials. Everyone is invited to show up in your best zombie getup.

Charlotte Zombie Walk 2007 photograph by Flickr user Willamor Media.

Dallas, Texas, Omaha, Nebraska, and Charlotte, North Carolina are all having zombie walks on Saturday, October 15.

Zombiewalk Hollywood 2009 photograph by Flickr user John Strathdee.

The 3rd Annual Subway Zombie Walk is happening in Los Angeles on Sunday, October 16. Instead of walking, these zombies will take the North Hollywood Red Line Station to Hollywood & Highland. Now that's using your braaaains!

2010 Silver Spring Zombie Walk photograph by Flickr user ARKNTINA.

Silver Spring, Maryland will stage their annual zombie walk Saturday, October 22 to shuffle through the downtown area and end at the AFI Silver Theatre. Then the undead participants can enjoy the 2009 Norwegian zombie film Dead Snow followed by Shaun of the Dead.

Asbury Park Zombie Walk 2009 photograph by Flickr user Kadath.

Last year, 4,093 zombies were counted in Asbury Park, New Jersey and recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. This year, there will be no record attempt, but the annual zombie walk has burgeoned into a three-day festival. The New Jersey Zombie Walk will take place October 22 as part of the Undead Festival at the Asbury Park Convention Center October 21-23. Many zombies from TV, film, and comic books are scheduled to appear.

The Denver, Colorado Zombie Crawl on October 22 includes the Organ Trail, a race/scavenger hunt that is described as "part Amazing Race, part Fear Factor, and part Haunted House." The zombie crawl afterward is free, but you should take something for the Food Bank of the Rockies.

Toronto Zombie Walk 2008 photograph by Flickr user Sam Javanrouh.

Zombie walks will also take place on October 22 in Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Ontario, Houston, Texas, and St. Louis. Missouri. There will be a pub craw in Sarasota, Florida the same day.

Brisbane Zombie Walk 2009 photograph by Flickr user yinyang.

The 6th annual Brisbane Zombie Walk will take place on Sunday, October 23. Since there aren't many zombie invasions scheduled on Sunday, we can all hop over to Brisbane! The event this year will raise funds for the Brain Foundation of Australia, because you know how zombies love brains.

Cincinnati Zombie Walk 2010.

Cincinnati, Ohio, is another city that hopes to benefit from welcoming a hoard of zombies on a day other than Saturday. The Cincinnati Zombie Walk will start at 7:30 on Friday, October 28. There's a party afterward, too.

Some of the zombie events are part of the 2011 Halloween Zombie Apocalypse, an effort to coordinate events in many cities on the weekend of October 29- 31 in order to raise funds for the American Cancer Society, the Epilepsy Foundation, and Feed the Children. You can connect with other participating zombies through their Facebook page.

Thrill the World Hawaii 2009 photograph by Flickr user marcorbito.

Thrill the World is an annual attempt to coordinate community productions of the iconic Michael Jackson dance video so that they are performed simultaneously. The events also raise funds for local charities. This year these dances will occur on October 29 at 2AM and 2PM GMT. New York City, London, and Los Angeles are all expected to have a huge turnout. Other US cities participating include (but are not limited to) Oakland and Chico, California; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Johnson City, Tennessee; Grant's Pass, Oregon; Redmond, Washington; and Bloomington, Indiana.

Reno Zombie Crawl 2008 photograph by Flickr user Nico Aguilera.

The annual zombie crawl in Reno, Nevada starts with a community Thriller dance at 7PM on Saturday, October 29 followed by a pub crawl that will last into Sunday. Long Beach, California will combine a zombie walk, concert, and Thriller dance into a festival on October 29. The festival is a benefit for the Long Beach Cinematheque, with some funds also going to Friends of Long Beach Animals and Special Olympics Southern California.

Sydney Zombie Lurch 2006 photograph by Flickr user Rachel Young.

Saturday, October 29 is also the day zombies will invade Richmond, Virginia, Phoenix, Arizona, and Sydney, Australia.

Lexington Thriller 2007 photograph by Flickr user .matter.

It's become a Kentucky tradition, and a performance that strives for quality over the number of participants. Lexington, Kentucky will stage the 10th anniversary Thriller Parade on Sunday, October 30. The dance is open to anyone, but in order to perform, you must attend at least one regular rehearsal and at least one staging rehearsal.

This is not an inclusive list. You should look now to see if there's a zombie invasion coming to your town, before you miss the chance to be a part of it! But if you do miss yours, all these other cities will welcome you to shuffle along with their undead.