Groans filled the air as crowds of rotting zombies shuffled their corpses around Rainbow Lagoon this weekend for the 7th annual Long Beach Zombie Fest.
Organized by Los Angeles based production company O Entertainment, the three-day festival opened Friday and ended on Sunday with an assortment of activities and entertainment such as live performances, interactive mazes, makeup booths, sideshow performers and the Infamous Zombie Walk.
Zombies, ghouls and other ghastly creatures of all ages teemed the festival grounds covered in heavy face paint and fake blood. The essence of the festival lies in the commitment of attendees to dress up and act like zombies, according to event coordinator Tracy Wintori.
“I think that’s the fun part, you can kind of be anything,” Wintori said. “[Being a zombie] is a pretty easy thing to do. Technically the only thing you really need to do is act like one.”
Attendees were welcome to arrive at the festival with or without a costume. The latter were offered professional zombie transformations, a free service provided by Cinema Makeup School special effects artists.
The festival gave attendees a chance to participate in the Infamous Zombie Walk, one of the biggest events of the night and a Long Beach Zombie Fest tradition. Starting at Rainbow Lagoon, the 45-minute walk took participants through Pine Avenue Pier and the Pike Outlet.
Clad in fake blood and tattered clothing, participants dragged their feet through the course of the walk, earning enthused and puzzled reactions from unsuspecting spectators.
Live performances at the main stage were sprinkled throughout the night to keep the festival’s atmosphere alive. Self proclaimed monster rock n’ roll band, The Rhythm Coffin performed a full set dressed in skeleton and zombie costumes, drawing in the largest crowd of the night.
White face paint against blackened eye sockets gave each band member a deadly look as they performed a string of Halloween-themed tunes around tombstones scattered throughout the stage. Their set featured original songs such as “Werewolf Walker” and “Scarrie Carrie from the Cemetery” written by lead vocalist Gruesome Gereg.
The band is a staple of the festival, having performed at Long Beach Zombie Fest since the festival’s creation.
“We love the Zombie Walk and all the people that participate in it,” said back-up vocalist, Scarrie Carrie. “It’s one of the most fun events throughout the entire holiday season.”
Revelers looking for a scare had the opportunity to get their adrenaline going at Infected: A Haunted Maze Attraction. Produced by Unhallowed Productions, the 3000-square foot maze allowed participants to enter an apocalyptic wasteland ridden with zombies ready to jump out at every turn.
The tables were turned at the Zombie Outbreak Cage, a unique experience where festival-goers were given 15 minutes to scare other attendees at the interactive quarantine scare zone.
Several sideshow acts were also sprinkled throughout the festival for attendees to enjoy as they walked past various food vendors and horror booths.
Between his Ultimate Shock Shows in the Freakshow Tent, shock artist and sideshow performer Darin “Dangerous D” Malfi walked around the festival, urging attendees to staple dollar bills to his bare skin.
Malfi has performed as a shock artist for 10 years and has been a contestant on America’s Got Talent and toured with metal artist Rob Zombie. This year marks Malfi’s fourth year performing at Long Beach Zombie Fest, regarding the local festival as one of his favorite events to perform at, seeing it as an opportunity to reach out and connect with his community doing what he does best.
“It’s really the one event where a community can bring kids, adults, grandmothers and parents together,” Malfi said. “Everybody can come to this event and enjoy themselves and have something to do and make a weekend out of it.”
Watch our video coverage of the event here:
VIDEO | Brenna Enos & Mark Lindahl