Do you dare venture out in Makati after dark?

Raymond Bagatsing, who is friends with the organizers, graced both the 30-second ad and media huddle the Makati City Hall. He was ‘accompanied’ by the ‘head’ of the creative team, ‘Jeffrey Santos,’ who couldn’t make it to the press conference. Bagatsing hopes to come to the event as a zombie; (inset) samples of Bessy Gray’s zombie makeup and prosthetics work.

It’s that time of the year when ghosts and ghouls are practically child’s play so don’t be surprised if you see friends and strangers acting weird in creepy costumes and makeup. Chances are, they’re off to a Halloween party that, for your sake, you should maybe go to as well. Be sure to prepare some candies, too, while you’re at it.

However, on Halloween, you will actually run into some “living dead” in the streets of Makati. In fact, you will most likely run into roughly 3,000 of them – zombies, all!

The city, after all, plays host to “Makati After Dark: Run and Survive Hallow Fest,” the largest street party unlike no other conceptualized and spearheaded by US promoter J.R. Usi and his group. In fact, not only will it have music, food, cars, comics and cosplay, they will also have a huge course for running enthusiasts that spans a large closed-off portion of Makati.

The running course on Buendia starts at the corner of Makati Avenue intersection to N. Garcia/Reposo. From there it will turn right going to Jupiter Street. From Jupiter, it goes on to Paseo De Roxas. (A course map is available online). At the end of this course, along Buendia from the corner of Paseo De Roxas back to Makati Avenue will be the band stage and the long line of food stalls from Mercato Centrale – almost as if it’s “the last stand of humanity.”

The biggest attraction of this run, however, is the fact that the course will be littered with thousands of zombies in full makeup – the biggest gathering of zombies in the country, ever.

Their goal would be to steal the “lives” of the runners (represented by flags on a runner’s belt that the zombies are supposed to take). There is no time limit to the run, each participant can run the course at his or her own pace; however, only those with at least one flag hanging from their belt will be given bragging rights: Certificates of completion that says they survived zombie run of “Makati After Dark.”

This event could very well make Makati known as the zombie capital of the country, but both the city and the organizers hope this would become a yearly activity.

Here’s a lowdown on this Halloween happening of the year:

Run For Your Lives!

The Oct. 31 festival/street party proper starts as early as 10 a.m. Motorists are advised that portions of Makati will be closed to traffic.

The Makati Zombie Run will begin at 6 p.m., and participants can choose their race time from the time the race begins al, meaning groups of runners will be released every 10 minutes.

Safety First

Since they envision this as a family affair, the city of Makati has promised to field “more than enough yellow boys (the MAPSA). We also coordinated with the Makati Police and the Makati Rescue; an ambulance will be on standby. The whole route will be pretty well protected,” says Mr. Carmelito Anzures of Makati Tourism Affairs. There will also be water and first aid stations throughout the run route.

Fees To Join

Registration fee is at 1,000 per head: This will include a souvenir shirt, race bib, life belt with the flags, a swag bag with Halloween treats, event wrist tag and access to the Hallow Fest event.

Festival ground entrance: 500, for those who prefer not to run.

Minimum Age Requirement

The organizers are requiring parental consent for run participants from 13 to 17 years old. Children below 12 will not be allowed to run. There may actually be certain types of drinks served at the festival proper so the organizers are appealing for parental discretion.

Beneficiaries

These fees will not only ensure that the only people within the street party area are ones that have paid to be there, the funds raised from this activity will be donated to help the displaced, quake-affected families in Bohol and Cebu.

The Set Design

Organizers hope to simulate a zombie apocalypse with the course of the “fantasy run” they designed. Dressed – or messed up, actually – to look like a movie set, the area has been envisioned by actor Jeffrey Santos, the creative director for the race. “We promise you an experience you will never forget,” he was quoted in the press release.

Zombie Look

The 3,000 or so volunteer zombies will have their make up and prosthetics done by the valiant and super talented team of Bessie Gray. Originally doing weddings as a profession, Bessy loves to do the wild, scary makeup of zombies because it lets her unleash her creative side.

End Of The Line

Aside from the Mercato Centrale food bazaar, street partygoers can enjoy music from bands like Callalily, Chicosci, 6Cyclemind, Sandwich, Moonstar 88 and Grace Note. A car show and cosplay activity also promise to entertain partygoers.

For the run route and more information, please visit www.makatiafterdark.com.

Do you dare venture out in Makati after dark?

Source: Mb.com.ph (October 29, 2013 at 07:20PM)

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