Redmond Zombies set to Thrill the World on Saturday
Published 3:38 pm Thursday, October 25, 2012
For the last three years, the undead have taken over Redmond Town Center (RTC) for one day in October and this year will be no different.
Come Saturday, hundreds of zombies will be dancing their way through Center Street Plaza as part of the fourth annual Thrill the World event, hosted by Redmond Zombies and SecondStory Repertory (SSR).
Dancers will be performing a routine to Michael Jackson’s classic song, “Thriller,” and adding their numbers to the annual worldwide attempt to set the record for largest simultaneous dance. This year’s dance will be at noon on Saturday.
To take part in the “Thriller” dance, participants must have learned the official version of the dance before Saturday.
“Chief zombie” Teresa Osborn held a number of dance workshops to teach the routine and while there are no more workshops, she said there will still be a lot to do for the whole family throughout the day.
“We’ve got such a lot more on (than just the ‘Thriller’ dance),” she said.
Makeup experts will be onsite to apply zombie makeup for souvenir photos and local musicians and actors will be performing throughout the day. In addition, there will be a scavenger hunt, retailers throughout RTC will offer special discounts for customers in zombie wear and restaurants such as Matts’ Rotisserie will also offer discounts and special zombie cocktails. There will also be a costume contest and prize giveaways such as Premium Plus tickets to iPic Theaters, manicures and pedicures from Studio Nails, Season 14 subscriptions from SecondStory Repertory and more.
“This is a community event for the whole family,” Osborn said about including RTC shops and restaurants in the festivities this year.
The net proceeds raised from the Thrill the World event, which Osborn said comes from dance workshop fees beforehand, as well as activities and product sales on the day of the event, will benefit SecondStory Repertory’s education program, SecondStory Conservatory (SSC). All the money raised directly impacts students by keeping costs down and making arts education accessible to everyone, regardless of income level.
Osborn said with regular budget cuts to public education, arts and physical education are usually the first items on the list to be cut. Osborn said when kids are just sitting in class all day, they don’t have the opportunity to exercise or be creative.
“You’re stunting their growth,” Osborn said.
Samantha Holsworth, education director for SSC, said the money raised through last year’s Thrill the World event helped fund scholarships for six kids attend their summer workshops. She added that this is a big deal for the kids as they get to be part of a show that has been produced on a professional level.
In addition to summer workshops, which are open to kids ages 13-18, SSC also holds classes throughout the year for kids ages 3-13. The money raised from Thrill the World also helps pay for supplies for these classes, as well as show royalty fees and SSC’s outreach programs with local schools.
Holsworth said there are 29 elementary and middle schools in the local school districts that don’t have any in-house drama programs and need to hire out to produce shows. The money from Thrill the World allows SSC to do outreach and build connections with these schools, Holsworth said.
SecondStory connected with Redmond Zombies three years ago before the first event when Osborn approached the theater about raising money for the education program. Holsworth said the fact that someone stepped forward to offer to raise money for their program, unprompted, shows that the community appreciates what they do and wants to say “thank you” and wants them to keep doing what they’re doing.
