Singapore Scarefest

Whether it’s dressing up as zombies to scare people on the streets, or playing dodgeball while dressed as Batman, Singaporeans are getting more creative with celebrating Halloween.

By Chen Shusi

SINGAPORE ZOMBIE WALK

HERE COMES THE BRIDE: Dress up as a zombie like this corpse bride, and spend a night scaring others.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GEEK CRUSADE

Imagine a scene right out of popular TV series The Walking Dead, more than a hundred zombies rampaged the streets of Clarke Quay for the first time in Singapore last October, as part of Halloween festivities.

The zombie march was part of the Singapore edition of the Zombie Walk, which originated in Sacramento, California, in 2001.

Its concept is simple — participants have to dress up and behave like zombies throughout the entire walking route.

Last year’s 800-metre zombie walk started at Riverside Point, with the zombie horde winding their way through Clarke Quay before ending back at the same mall.

Marketing analyst Gillian Ang, 28, was inspired to bring the zombie walk to Singapore after witnessing a similar march at the San Diego Comic-Con, an annual science fiction and fantasy convention for comic books, movies, and other collectible merchandise.

Together with her boyfriend, Mr Nicholas Yong, 33, a freelance writer, Ms Ang organised the zombie walk as Geek Crusade’s flagship event.

Geek Crusade, founded by Mr Yong, is an online news site that shares the latest updates on movie and television adaptations of science fiction and fantasy novels and comics within the Asia-Pacific fan community.

Public response to last year’s zombie walk was positive, Mr Yong said. Passers-by were surprised and amused to see hordes of repulsive zombies in elaborate make-up trawling the streets — some even stopped to pose with them for pictures.

The theme of this year’s walk is “Zombie Mall” and it will be held within The Cathay. Its inspiration is the 2004 horror film, Dawn of the Dead, which depicts a group of human survivors living in a shopping mall surrounded by zombies.

The organisers of Zombie Walk are also working with the Food Bank Singapore this year to collect food donations.

While this event is free-of- charge and open to all, participants are strongly encouraged to donate at least two canned or non-perishable food items as a form of admission fee.

“We have always wanted to do something for the charity. Besides, the tagline for Food Bank Singapore is ‘Let the feeding begin’, which is very apt for our event,” said Mr Yong.

Date:	26 Oct
Time:	7.30pm (Undead Festival: Back for Seconds Party)9pm (Zombie Walk)
Venue:	The Cathay, 2 Handy Road S229233
Attire:	Zombie attire
Cost:	Free. But in return, participants are encouraged to donate food items to Food Bank Singapore.
Registration:	Geek Crusade

HALLOWEEN DODGEBALL

TERROR TEAM: Players gamely dressed up to compete in a game of Halloween Dodgeball last year.

IMAGINE Batman, Spiderman and Superman, running around drenched in perspiration, and battling it out — in a game of dodgeball.

This is exactly what happens during the Halloween Dodgeball Tournament. Clad in a variety of superhero and ghost costumes, participants wield imaginary super powers and duel one another in dodgeball matches.

Started in 2010, the tournament is a recreational competition where participants form teams of six to eight and play against other teams.

The tournament is jointly organised by the Dodgeball Association of Singapore (DAS) and 22 Experience — an organisation that shares unique activities happening in Singapore on its website and Facebook page on the 22nd of every month.

“Our event is just another way to celebrate Halloween aside from the usual pub crawl. It is a chance for us to introduce the sport to more people in a fun and interesting way,” said Mr Emmanuel Tan, 35, the president of DAS.

“The main draw of dodgeball is that anyone can play it, regardless of one’s size and height. Even if a person cannot catch or throw, he can always dodge as that is a natural instinct,” he added.

Organisers say the event has come a long way since the first tournament, to which participants turned up costumeless.

Since then, Mr Tan noted that “Singaporeans are gradually warming up to the idea of celebrating Halloween differently”.

With a “Heroes versus Villains” theme last year, approximately 100 participants turned up in elaborate costumes and frightful makeup, turning the dodgeball court into a battleground for pirates, zombies and superheroes, including characters like Super Mario and Superman.

Said Mr Neoh Yi Hui, 27, the vice-president of DAS: “Aside from minor issues like getting make-up in the eye, or an obscured vision from the costume masks, the fun of playing dodgeball in Halloween get-ups is in getting dirty and letting loose.”

Date:	25 Oct
Time:	7-11pm
Venue:	Kovan Sports Centre 60 Hougang Street 21 S538738
Cost:	$15 for those who dress up $17 for those who don’t dress up $100 for a team of 6-8 pax dressed up
Registration:	eventnook

WESTs the HAUNT

YOU can now keep fit while celebrating Halloween — thanks to WESTs the HAUNT, a 5km Halloween-themed fun run happening for the first time on 2 Nov.

Organised by the Boon Lay Community Centre Youth Executive Committee, the run will start at Chinese Garden and end at Boon Lay Community Centre. Surprises await the participants at ‘spook spots’ strategically placed throughout the run.

At the end point, a horror movie will be screened as an apt conclusion to the festivities.

Date:	2 Nov
Time:	7pm till late
Venue:	Starts at Chinese Gardens Ends at Boon Lay Community Centre
Cost:	$25 for normal registration $20 for PASSION card holders $20 per person for group sign-ups
Registration:	8packs.com

 

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