Photo by Tyler Hargett
Saturday’s Zombie Walk, hosted by Russellville Public Library, is an annual event that celebrates the creepiness of a favorite monster. Attendees were made-up to scare as they crawled the streets of downtown Russellville.

By Tyler Hargett for the FCT

tyler.hargett@fct.wpengine.com

Saturday, a legion of zombies was seen walking up Jackson Avenue. However, these creatures were not trying to eat people but were celebrating the 4th Annual Russellville Zombie Walk.

Beginning at the Russellville Public Library and ending at the courthouse, this walk was used as an outreach for the library.

With the doors opening midmorning, the time leading up to the 5:30 p.m. walk was filled with many fun activities. Highlights included zombie story and craft time, a blood drive, costume contests (for children 12 and younger as well as adults), door prizes and even a brain-eating contest – using red gelatin for “brains.” Plenty of food was provided, including hot dogs, pickle-sicles and baked goods that were sold through a bake sale.

Make-up artist Brittany Smith and her team were brought in to make the participants look zombie-like as possible. Smith gave would-be zombies a choice of fake blood or latex. Overall, about 120 zombies were prepared to participate in the walk.

The Russellville Police Department provided an escort to the courthouse to ensure the zombies’ safety.

The event was free to everyone and was a great time for many. One participant, Isreal Montalvo, who had never been to any of the previous walks, had such a good time that he plans on coming back next year.

“I enjoyed it a lot – like a LOT lot,” said Montalvo. “One of my favorite parts was the brain-eating contest. It was pretty cool.”

Library director Ashley Cummins said although the event was tiring, it was still a lot of fun.

“This is still our largest program of the year,” said Cummins. “Despite the heat, we were happy to have some new patrons. As always, we had a wonderful time and hope to continue hosting it in the future.”