Die Zombie Die

A big shout out to my photography fans from Portland, Maine at Portland Magazine Monthly. The award winning magazine is in the heart of America's 41st populated state and they have asked me to submit some pictures of the Toronto Zombie March. We shall see if my photos appear in this fine printed magazine.

They have Zombie Kickball in Portland. Darn Zombies have no brains playing kickball - they could get a concussion and die.

Toronto Zombies Rock!

Photo Vault - Zombie Walk

Zombies don't seem to like winter so it seems safer for those with brains when the snow starts to fly. You have some time now to get your costume ready for next year's Zombie Walk. Every year there are more zombies and the costumes are very creative so I look forward to the next walk.

Zombie Lego Man

I love those zombies, those brain eating, greedy ghouls who shuffle along city streets (with proper permits and insurance) and entertain the multitudes who have grown to enjoy the annual Zombie walk. Blood and guts is always a good zombie costume but it is the unusual costumes that help to make the walk a great event.

Happy Halloween - trick or treat

It's Halloween and the scary snow started falling today and most of the leaves have fallen from the trees. Oooooooooohhhhhh, damn snow. Happy Halloween everyone.

Here is one more scary Bay Street Banker zombie to scare the heck out of you.

More cool zombies

All Hallows Eve is this Sunday and the little ghouls and goblins will be going door to door for treats. Here are some more zombies to help scare you to death in honour of the night. And the pictures are extra large so they are extra scary - except for the superhero.

2010 Toronto Zombie Walk

The 2010 Zombie Walk returns to the streets of Toronto, starting at Trinity Bellwoods Park at 3pm and winding it's way along various roads until it hits Christie Pits. Hide your brains and bring out the blood. I asked Thea Munster (pictured below) if she had gotten married yet - you may remember that she got engaged during last years Zombie Walk, and she said that she has been too busy to get married so far this year.

People were having fun gathering in the bowl in Trinity Bellwoods Park. Some of the outfits, costumes and makeup were out of this world. Use of special contacts has been increasing at every event that we attend.

After milling around and everyone taking lots of photos of the zombies they gathered around the stage for a few contests including best scream, best zombie walk and best costume. Then a little after three the zombie crowd headed out to Dundas and there route which ended at Christie Pits. They did do a little diversion to their planned route, heading up Bathurst instead of Borden, but the zombies and the crowds of people had great fun watching the bloody spectacle. This was another successful Zombie Walk and it was great fun to watch and take pictures of everyone.

You can see my pictures of the 2009 Zombie Walk here.

And after the jump you can see many more of my pictures of the excellent makeup and costumes worn by some of the participants.

After the park the streets of Toronto were over run with the many varieties of zombies, guided by the Toronto Police and the UMBRELLA Corporation keeping all the brain dead zombies alive, I mean, safely dead.

2010 Wish List - Toronto Events

2009 has been a very good year for the Toronto Grand Prix Tourist Blog and I am looking forward to some returning and some new events for 2010. High on my list is to see the return of the Aids Committee of Toronto's (ACT) annual Fashion Cares event - which was sadly postponed in 2009. The fashion and glamour fundraiser is always spectactular (click on my photos on the right for coverage of the event. My videos on YouTube for Fashion Cares and the 2008 spooktacular have been viewed over 25,000 times - and includes this popular summary of the night while a Google search has my blog just below the official website) and I encourage people to support ACT and this event.



For more heavy hitters I hope to see the 2010 Honda Indy Toronto which plans a number of improvements over last year - including the addition of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and tons more entertainment and hopefully more girls, girls, girls. As well the Luminato and Nuit Blanche Festivals will soon take over all of Toronto as they become more and more popular. And who could forget the Buskerfest as it fills the St. Lawrence Market area. I can also never get enough of the blood soaked, brain eating Zombies as their number continues to grow. I hope to cover more of the Toronto International Film Festival events and look forward to their continued success. Toronto has taken these amazing visual performances to heart and their success has made it difficult to see many of the events due to the size of the crowds, so look for my photographic coverage when you can't make it, or just want to remember the fun - just click my photo links to the right for pictures of previous celebrations.

Some of the smaller promotional activities also provide great opportunities for images - such as the mob of Blu-Ray Santas in Yonge-Dundas Square, so hopefully companies will step up their creative efforts this year.

It is always nice to be invited to unique and once in a lifetime events, such as my recent tour in the Olympic Flame Relay convoy and I am glad I was asked to find out about the movie Fandom which will use an exciting method of interactive filmaking right here in Toronto. So please keep thinking of me if you have something that you may want additional coverage on, just email me at jmhcet@gmail.com.

I will start a list of the events (not in any order) that I want to photograph and write about and will add to it when I find more. Let me know if you can suggest any additional ones that I have left out.

1. Fashion Cares.
2. Honda Indy Toronto. July 16 to 18, 2010.
3. Luminato. June 11 to 20, 2010.
4. Nuit Blanche. Saturday October 2, 2010.
5. Buskerfest. Sometime in August 2010?
6. Zombie Walk. Sometime in October 2010?
7. Toronto International Film Festival. Sometime in September 2010?
8. The Pride Week and parades. June 25 to July 4, 2010.
9. The movie: Fandom. 2010.
10. Joe Fresh has also identified the Toronto Roller Derby League as something that would be good to see.
11. Cirque Du Soleil: Alegria. June 30 to July 4, 2010.
12. Seeing Larysa Harapyn on television again and taking more pictures of the media host - a website with her name is currently under construction.
13. Caribana (a new one for me, thanks Not a Shopaholic). Monday July 14th to Sunday August 2nd, 2010. I heard the King and Queen show is a must see.

Join me in supporting local events and activities that make it such a positive experience to visit and live in the City of Toronto.

Zombie Walk 2009

Pam Anderson was in town this week to raise awareness for PETA and the protest against killing seal cubs and I am sure she wouldn't support feasting on human brains that filled the minds of the undead in Toronto. Yes that's right, the undead walked through the streets of TO, bloodied and single minded of purpose - brains, human brains, brains probably high in chloresterol.

PS - it was love at first bite as Adam Pearson proposed to Thea Munster (both pictured above) on a hill full of the fellow zombies.

The gathering began in the hollow of Trinity Bellwood Park on Queen Street West. Many showed up already undead and many also took advantage of the the free zombiefication provided by the sponsor Resident Evil in anticipation of the release of Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. The walk also followed a different route on the way to Bloor and Bathurst.

Head Zombie Thea Munster continues to creep out the big smoke with the much anticipated Zombie Walk and more information can be found on her facebook page. There is always some zombie movies and after parties when the walk finishes.

There were some fantastic Zombies - my favourite being the blood dripping, contact wearing zombies. There was also a lot of clown and Jesus zombies this year, although clowns don't really need to be zombies to be scary.