Ijams Nature Center brings all the zombies to the yard
On Saturday, Oct. 11 Ijams Nature Center paired with the Knoxville Horror Film Fest to celebrate the third annual Zombie Movie Marathon. Halloween lovers across the city appeared dressed as zombies to enjoy a night filled with food, fun and of course fright.
Local Vendors show off their Halloween spirit.
On Saturday, Oct. 11 Ijams Nature Center paired with the Knoxville Horror Film Fest to celebrate the third annual Zombie Movie Marathon. Halloween lovers across the city appeared dressed as zombies to enjoy a night filled with food, fun and of course fright.
The night began with a performance by the Greg Carney Project, a Knoxville based hip-hop dance group, to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. Then, at sunset attendees enjoyed classic horror films such as Life After Beth and White Zombie.
Sarah Brobst, Ijams Event Coordinator, generated the idea for the Movie Marathon.
“I have always been a huge horror fanatic and a couple of years ago we decided to try to have some sort of Halloween event [at Ijams],” said Brobst.
Brobst saw the Knoxville Horror Film Fest Page on Facebook, contacted them about organizing the event and their partnership has led to three years of successful movie marathons.
The event also provided a venue for horror vendors across Knoxville. Sarah Claxton, a graduate from Pellisippi State Community College, sold an array of hand-made gothic style paintings and sculptures.
A local nightclub, Temple, utilizes the Movie Marathon to encourage people to attend their dance nights. Whitney Ragsdale, an employee of Temple states that they play everything from gothic to retro music.
“We have at least three DJ’s a night so there is usually something that anybody will like,” said Ragsdale.
Jay Harris, the owner of Temple, insists that being able to set up at this event has increased turn out at the nightclub.
“It’s actually been very nice doing things like this,” said Harris. “This is the first time we have done stuff like setting up tables and going out; usually it was all word of mouth.”
Ijambs will host several additional Halloween events this month including the Fall Fairy House Festival on Oct. 18, the Haunted Lantern Tours on Oct. 23, 24 and 29 and the Little Tyke Halloween Hike on Oct. 30.
To visit the Ijams site for more information, click here.
Edited by Jessica Carr
