Walker Weekend a graveyard smash

Oct. 9—What a way to kick off the Spooky Season.

Walker Weekend, held Saturday at the Eubank City Park, was a ghoul-infested good time with costumes, game, storytelling, music, hay rides and, of course, the dance based off of Michael Jackson's Thriller music video.

The event is sponsored each year by the Somerset Junior Woman's Club, which made the trek to Eubank for the third year in a row.

Walker Weekend, sometimes known by its original name as the Zombie Walk, started its life — or undeath — in downtown Somerset. The shuffle to Eubank has allowed the event to spread its wings and really take off.

"We love having it up here. The City of Eubank is grateful to have us here, and we're grateful they want us here," said Wynona Padgett with the Somerset Junior Woman's Club.

Plus, she said they couldn't have asked for better weather and a better crowd.

With the parking lot bursting to overflow even by 4 p.m., the crowds turned up for the early events as much as they did for the evening affairs.

Padgett said she had been told that the Bloodmobile had a line of people willing to donate blood even before they had opened up.

Tucked in among the vendors, food and game booths at which guests could try their luck was a photo opportunity with a guest that, on the surface, looked to be out of season — Krampus.

The Christmas character who appears to be the evil brother to Santa Claus was brought to life by SomerKnight's Cosplay brothers Jordan and Josh Ford.

Jordan was the one in the costume — one he had made himself and which has several features not seen in the run-of-the-mill Halloween costume. A fan within Krampus' cranium, to blow cooling air on Jordan, for one.

He admitted that the heavy costume was getting to be hot, even in the fall temperatures seen Saturday, but the fan was helping to keep him cool.

Josh, on standby, called himself Jordan's "seeing eye dog," since Jordan's eyesight is hampered by the complex costume.

Another feature of the mask is that they have rigged the jaw so that it's mouth moves when Jordan's does. "When he talks, it talks," Josh Ford explained.

Despite being at a Halloween-themed event, Josh said they had been having problems with scaring kids. "They usually love it," he said.

Jordan has created several different costumes he can wear at conventions and parties throughout the year, where he can be hired to take pictures with guests.

At the moment, they are working their magic the best they can within a national contest, Face of Horror, where Jordan is currently in second place, they said.

While Walker Weekend is an opportunity for families to get out and enjoy some treats, it's also used by several organizations to raise money for good causes. Padgett said the annual Creepy Cake Contest raised around $200 for the Somerset-Pulaski County Humane Society.

The Eubank Volunteer Fire Department also had several items for sale to raise money, including the popular 18-month calendar featuring risque photos of some of the department's employees.

Sharon Gilliam and Leona Floyd with the Eubank Fire Department's PR team (a group of ladies who help get the word out about the department's various fundraising activities), said orders for the calendars have been coming from all over.

Gilliam said they had just sent out a bunch to Alaska, and have gotten orders from "everywhere," including Chicago, Nebraska and Canada.

"They've been a big hit," Floyd added.

The department's chief, Norman Rutheford, said the money raised by the calendar and other fundraising efforts goes towards buying equipment.

"The equipment that we buy is so expensive, every little bit helps," Rutheford said. "We just went on a grass fire a few minutes ago, and we figured out we're going to have to put a new pump on a couple of our brush trucks, so that's probably what a lot of this is going to go towards."

The ladies in the PR department were also busy Saturday with a food tent that sold several fall-flavored snacks, including what they called their "Caramel Apple Nachos" — sliced apples with caramel sauce poured over them. Customers could decorate their "nachos" with any of the toppings at a toppings bar located at the side of the tent.

Rutheford said the city has embraced the Walker Weekend event, knowing it has helped the city and the Somerset Junior Woman's Club both.

"I think they enjoy having it up here because the park with the trails makes the Zombie Walk a whole lot scarier," he said.

Carla Slavey can be reached at cslavey@somerset-kentucky.com