Louisville Zombie Attack

I love love love the Louisville Zombie Attack!
I am a huge horror nerd. I’m the girl that goes to conventions. I love all things scary and gross and science fiction/​fantasy.
So, of course, the Louisville Zombie Attack is right up my alley. I love seeing all of the costumes. People get so into it, even more so than Halloween. It’s so fun to see everyone out having so much fun!
Most restaurants and bars in the Highlands, the area where the Louisville Zombie Attack is held, have cool drink and menu specials for the event. Many places have zombie themed cocktails or something cool like skull glasses to drink from.
The event is every year on August 29 beginning at 8:29 p.m. I highly recommend you start saving that date!

Keep Louisville Weird is right! We have such a fun awesome city! I have to say that this was one of the best events that we put on in the city. One of our BUSIEST streets is closed on a Saturday night for a few miles. (2 maybe? Shout out of you know for sure!) The police are unobtrusively present to remind every one to play nice — which I think is great! They were smiling and laughing and I think they really love our city too. By the way, as far as I could tell, everyone did play nice and had a fantastic time! There were some really scary costumes and a few scary people that had fun coming up behind you and growling or jumping out at you from bushes. All to enhance your safe scary experience. The guilla (sp?) Suit guy hiding in the tall grass — good job. You made me almost pee! Lol! The fact that the Zombie Walk was on the same day/​night as the Highlands Festival — brilliant! There were booths of every manner! We stopped at some artist booths, food booths, and beer booths, all while dancing/​listening/​rocking out to the music at multiple performance stages! The local businesses were in on the act too! Bar Nowhere had the techno going and zombies dancing on platforms in their «courtyard» — so much fun! Dragon King’s Daughter had caution tape up everywhere making it look like a condemned building. There was so much going on and you could just walk and walk and walk. And my feet HURT! (Moral of this story — do not be a zombie in heels! Dress comfortably to WALK a LONG DISTANCE!) So until next year zombie friend, creepy scary guilla suit guy, amazing makeup artistists, and brilliantly creative LOUISVILLIANS, Keep It Weird!

Fun family event with lots of great costumes but not the throw-​down street party it once was.

I think it’s wonderful how Louisville celebrates wet pants. For so many years I thought I was the only one. Under the guise of a «Zombie Attack», the city of Louisville bands together to walk in the name of pants peeing. People dress up in zombie costumes to terrify one another into experiencing involuntary urination. Sometimes I don’t know if I’m screaming because some guy’s rotting flesh made his eyeball fall out of its socket or because my legs are starting to sting with ammonia-​perfumed joy.
The walk goes on for a mile or so, which happens to include the Duncan Donuts on Bardstown road: «No thanks, man, I used the restroom in my pants a few minutes ago; I’m here for the glazed donuts.» Sometimes I just stop in DD to take a break from all of the stroller-​sized to adult zombies.
Note: Families come together and wet themselves earlier in the evening as the crowd gets more rowdy towards the later evening hours.
Get excited for a killer shared experience via the Louisville Zombie Attack!

I go to a lot of local events, but the Zombie walk is by far my favorite! I look forward to it every year. There are great live bands, products to buy, and amazing costumes to see. The only thing I dislike are the more modernized political groups that harass you and try to get you to join them i.e. The Alison Grimes army at Zombie Attack 2014. The best part of this event though, is the fact that it is free and you can see people from the community bonding. It’s great.

Honestly the first time you go it’s fun. But its the same thing every year and it’s nothing special.

I waited ten years to go to this event. I didn’t participate with the makeup, but I did watch the whole thing and enjoyed it very much. I love the weirdness of Louisville and love that these events are still kid friendly. We had a lot of fun watching the craziness from the sidelines. We even saw one large group of zombies doing a Thriller Flash Mob. That was my highlight.

I have always wanted to go to one of these things, whether it be participating as a Zombie, or just zombie watching. I was just zombie watching this time, but still had a blast. There are certainly some interesting characters out there, lol. I’m sure this wont be my last zombie event, I love them!

It seems to me that things were a little less organized this year with it officially starting at Eastern Pkwy instead of Mid City Mall as it has the past few years. But it is a Zombie Attack, zombies are not organized so I can get over that.
One thing that has irritated me while doing the walks the last three years would be the number of, usually, teenagers who look at this as a way to get out of the house and just «pick up someone». Come on, ripping up a white t-​shirt and MAYBE spraying some fake blood on it does not make you a zombie. With all the zombie movies, TV shows and YouTube videos out there, you can put together a good zombie in a matter of minutes. At least give it a try.
One other thing, it is a ZOMBIE walk, not a 5k. Zombie linger down the street. They don’t walk at a brisk pace. And it would not hurt to interact with the crowd. Some of my favorite moments are walkin up on the sidewalk, walkin up next to someone who does not realize you are there, then they scream when they turn and see you. Good times.

This was fantastic! A great event to attend even if you don’t want to be zombified!

In terms of events that embody the whole «Keep Louisville Weird» mantra, I think the Louisville Zombie Attack takes the cake!
It is also a reason why I love Louisville so much. This city not only has an annual event in which many, many, many thousands of people dress up like zombies and take to the streets, but it embraces it!
Each Aug. 29 — or at least each Aug. 29 for the past 10 years — streets in the Highlands are shut down to make way for the undead horde. And (most) businesses along the stretch roll out the red carpet for the zombies, offering deals and entertainment.
As we walked down Bardstown Road last night, I was so impressed to see businesses with signs, beckoning zombies to come in.
And despite the fact that we’re all, ya know, zombies, the crowds over the years have always been decently well behaved. Kids run around with their parents, and the worst thing I’ve seen has been some truly gruesome zombie makeup — no crazy drunkards or inappropriate behavior.
I’d even go as far to say that the Zombie Attack is more family friendly than even the St. Patrick’s Day Parade or some other annual events.
The Zombie Attack is prime for people watching, as you can image, as everyone comes out in zombie-​fied costumes ranging from specially made frocks to revamps of what they wore last Halloween.
And it can make for a fun time to watch zombies in otherwise non-​zombie situations, like getting fro-​yo or sitting in Taco Bell.
I can’t wait for next year! I’m proud to say that Louisville is home to the oldest and largest zombie walk in the world.

There is a saying that us local louisville natives like to abide by… Keep Louisville Weird… and by golly what better way to do so then have 30,000 brain eating participants dressed up as zombies walking down the streets of one of Louisville’s most happening areas.
Every year my friends and I use this as an opportunity to get around the fact that Halloween, one of our fave holidays, only comes once a year. We get our creative juices flowing by doing different themes every year. From zombie prom, to zombie Oz, and even taking some of Disney’s most beloved characters and turning them into devilish misters hungry for brains, we have done it all… it’s a fun time to let loose and not be so serious for once and I enjoy it every year as it grows and grows each time.
I had no idea that the event ran on donations up until this year and I donated… please do the same people. A dollar donation from each participant is all they ask… don’t be stingy and not donate as you reap all of the benefits of enjoying such a fun time ;)

For just one night a year Louisville is taken over — becoming the night of the living dead. Thousands of brain-​hungry zombies flood ValuMarket, multiplying as they surprise human passerbys along Bardstown Road and Grinstead.
From princesses to brides, Mario, Little Bo Peep, farmers and regular folks, the light is gone from their eyes as they drudge the walk to the Monkey Wrench. There awaits an epic block party of the undead. And beer. And music. A few zombie hunters. And maybe best of all — zombie bicycle (and unicycle) polo at Barret Bar.
Life may never be the same once you give yourself to the dark side…