“The Walking Dead” may be a television sensation, but in Key West — an island known for giving even the trendiest concepts an over-the-top spin — it’s the bicycling dead that everybody’s talking about.
Face and body painters at the pre-ride Zombieland gathering will help participants (like the lovely fairy here) “transform” into zombies. (Photo by Rob O’Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)
Yes, zombies (typically portrayed staggering through dark landscapes with chalk-white faces, hollow eyes and tattered garments) are planning to invade the island streets. But breaking with the time-honored horror film tradition, they’ll be abandoning pedestrian power and doing it on bicycles.
The invasion is called, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Zombie Bike Ride. The eerie annual occurrence is scheduled Sunday, Oct. 23, when much of the island is likely to be overrun by an oddly lively gaggle of the biking dead.
A pre-Halloween tradition for visiting and local families and groups, the ride typically draws several thousand men, women and children (and even a few bewildered pets). Garbed in ragged costumes and frightening face and body makeup, they pedal along Key West’s Atlantic Ocean shore and tree-lined streets in a deliciously scary spectacle.
Of course, it takes a lot of work to turn a more-or-less-normal human into a zombie (even without employing voodoo sorcery or a mad scientist’s fiendish schemes).
Luckily, participants in the Zombie Bike Ride can get help with their transformations. At 2 p.m. Oct. 23, “Zombieland” opens at Fort East Martello Museum (a fascinating and supposedly haunted historic site beside the Atlantic).
A perky pup with unnerving extra heads participated in a past Zombie Bike Ride. (Photo by Mike Marrero, Florida Keys News Bureau)
There, face and body painters will be on hand to create the dead-white facial features, red-rimmed eyes, random scars and other unnerving elements vital to the “zombie look.”
Zombieland’s afternoon attractions also include music, live mural painting, food and beverage vendors, prizes, giveaways, and a kids’ zone with age-appropriate fun.
At 6 p.m., the unruly undead are to depart on their bicycle prowl. The route takes them down South Roosevelt Boulevard beside the Atlantic, past Smathers Beach and Higgs Beach, and into parts of Key West’s hauntingly picturesque Old Town.
The unearthly antics will culminate in the ZombieFest Street Party in the 100, 200 and 300 blocks of the island’s famed Duval Street.
In previous years, Zombie Bike Rides have drawn as many as 8,500 participants ranging from seniors to families with kids and dogs. And the costumes tend to be as varied as the participants.
A “rock star” and his riding roadie were among the unearthly undead at a previous Zombie Bike Ride. (Photo by Rob O’Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)
Past standouts have included an eerie zombie wedding party, a devilish red-garbed “rock star” propelled by a biking “roadie,” zombies in gauzy tutus (why not?) and a “chef” offering zombie-style meals on wheels.
Spooky cyclists have spoofed everything from the television reality show “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” to the awkward exploits of political candidates.
One unforgettable zombie biker pulled a cart carrying his real-life canine companion — whose costume was enhanced by two extra heads.
Registration to ride is $5 per person. Artists at Zombieland can set their own prices for face and body painting, but they’re encouraged to offer a simple $10 “zombie face” option.
The Zombie Bike Ride, by the way, is only the beginning of Key West’s pre-Halloween revelry. The ride coincides with the first weekend of Fantasy Fest, the outrageous annual costuming and masking festival that runs through Sunday, Oct. 30.
