According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest gathering of zombies ever, was held on October 30th 2010 when 4,093 participants, gathered on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park, New Jersey. But, on October 15^th of this year, more than 20,000 zombies descended on downtown Fort Myers for ZOMBICON 2011, unofficially shattering the world record. Convincing Guinness however, may prove to be more difficult than amassing a horde of zombies which constituted the largest event to take place on the streets of the River District in history.

To satisfy the Guinness requirements, ZOMBICON organizers (known as The ZOMBICORE), collected names and signatures of 5,810 people in zombie make-up, on the night of the event. At exactly 9:00 PM First Street (between Broadway and Jackson Street) was cleared by The ZOMBICON “Goon Squad”. Using barricades, construction fencing and red caution tape, they created an enclosure referred to as the “Red Zone”. All registered zombies were called to The Red Zone, while all non-infected “survivors” (those without the minimum required make-up), were ushered onto the adjoining sidewalks.

Once this area was cordoned off and filled with all registered zombies, an air horn sounded from atop the 30 foot tall “zombie tower”, constructed on the corner of First and Hendry streets just for the occasion. Upon hearing the signal, members of the Fort Myers Fire Department, who served as official timekeepers, started the clock. According to regulations, all zombies must remain within the designated area for at least 10 minutes. As the clock ticked, excitement on the street reached a fever pitch. A second blast from the air horn signaled the fulfillment of the time requirement. The Red Zone was dismantled, uninfected humans and zombies mixed, and the party continued.

Since the night of ZOMBICON, members of the Z-Core have set about collecting evidence of the attempt, which includes video footage, photographs and notarized statements from officials. Beyond those who actually registered, the number of people in zombie make-up easily exceeded 15,000 people, (more than 3 times the official record), according to eyewitnesses. A map created by Parker, Mudgett, Smith Architects, depicts the Red Zone with an overlaying grid, which demonstrates how many people could potentially fit into the designated space. The corresponding photographs show this area completely packed with people during the attempt. All of this data has been carefully compiled and sent to London for consideration, as Fort Myers awaits the answer.

In the meantime, other records were broken on the night of ZOMBICON, which were easier to prove. According to Eric Olsen, Manager of the World Famous Cigar, “In 15 years downtown, we had our best night EVER”. Many other downtown bars and restaurants also reported record numbers. Gloria Bonventre, head of the Lee Memorial Blood Center, confirmed that 128 units of blood were donated, which have the potential of saving up to 256 lives. This is more than 3 times the number from the previous year, a record for the most blood collected at a special event. And this year, for the first time The Renal Transplant Center, and the “Be The Match” Bone Marrow Registry”, recruited donors at the event. A record 3,786 pounds of food was gathered for The Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida, the most ever collected at a nighttime event.

The Z-Core would like to thank the City of Fort Myers, the sponsors (particularly “Brains” level sponsors: Coastal Contacts, Myers, Brettholtz & Co., Needful Things Tattoos, New Rock 99X and Horned One Productions), and the volunteers without whom ZOMBICON would not be possible. Pushing Daizies, Inc. the non-profit organization which produces ZOMBICON, already has it’s sights set on next years event, which will be held on October 20^th 2012. If Guinness does not recognize Fort Myers this year, there’s always the Future…

Started by six local artists Zombicon has eclipsed the ‘typical’ community gathering and by far, this year’s event was not only the biggest one but was also an even more creative that years past. Zombicon 2011 was the most anticipated celebration of ‘Life…and Death’.

Zombicon is truly bigger than the City of Ft. Myers could have ever expected and the Internationally recognized event takes center stage as the founders and participants of 2011 Zombicon have put Ft. Myers on the map with the attempt at ‘The Guinness Book of World Records’.

This year Zombicon was extra special for many reasons but the theme “The Legends of the Silver Screen…NEVER DIE!” made for many creative examples of dead stars past and present a star-studded tribute to the dead stars of Hollywood.

The efforts of the  ‘Zombicon Z-Core’ of Janet DeMarco, Nicole Long, Gerard Damiano, Christopher Fous, Rachel Telfor and Thatcher Long started over five years ago and with recruits Darrel DeMarco and Adi-Marcel Long the event is by far one of the 239′s darkest and scariest…but also it brightest shinning star.

The event went smooth as it could with the throngs of zombies and by far was the busiest night according to Downtown Fort Myers merchants.

“It was pandemonium, at least for a minute” said a weary Gerard Damiano one of the event founders.  “we lost communication due to the number of people…phones were jammed and even the walkie-talkies…died. We were in a true dead zone due the sheer number of people”, added Damiano.

Zombicon 2011 was produced by Pushing Daizies, Inc. a non-profit organization for the arts  and the mid-day to mid-night event has grown to three stages of live entertainment, art exhibitions, dance performances, make-up artistry along with charity efforts for The Harry Chapin Food Bank , and the established record for donors to The Lee Memorial Blood Center.

This year was one of more ‘firsts’ for Zombicon but perhaps the most joyous of the ‘deadly’ attractions was the actual Zombicon sanctioned and legal wedding of the corpse bride Alex Sherman and her gloomy groom James Moore.

Since it’s inception, Zombicon has gained more attention worldwide and furthered the presence of Fort Myers Florida as an “international Zombie Tourist Destination”.  The event is spurred by ‘Zombie History’ as Artist and Film Maker George Romero selected  Fort Myers for the ‘dead downtown’ backdrop for his classic cult 1985 film “Day of the Dead”.

Romero, 71 lives in New York City and has been called both ‘The Grandfather’ and “The Godfather’ of the Zombies and his trilogy of films,  Night of the Living Dead (1968),  Dawn of the Dead (1978) and “Day of the Dead (1985) define the modern genre of horror special effects and cosmetic artistry.

Currently Asbury Park, New Jersey holds the title for the “largest gathering of zombies” but this year Zombicon organizers have added the world record attempt to the biggest and most interactive celebration of art, music and creativity that Ft. Myers has ever witnessed.

The World Record attempt  began at 9 PM and hundreds of Zombies got faces a deadly makeover to qualify as official Zombies at the ‘Kiss Me/Kill Me’ Make-up Booth Many in attendance felt confident that all requirements had been met to better the current record of 4.093 zombies who gathered in the seaside town of Asbury Park on October 30, 2010.

Since then many attempts have be made but the stringent ‘Guinness Record-Breaking’ requirements disqualified cities around the globe such as Brisbane, Australia; Seattle, Washington; and Dublin, Ireland.

Zombicon producer/director Janet ‘Planit’ DeMarco said, “For the other attempts, people gathered just to set the world record. We are going to try to pull this off right in the middle or our event”.

This posed a unique challenge for event organizers, who devised a plan to fulfill all The Guinness requirements, while maintaining the continuity of the entire event.  All persons wearing approved zombie makeup registered for the world record attempt by signing in and receiving a wristband with a unique number.

“We are confident, but guarded due to the stringent rules set by the Guinness Book of World Records and we have submitted the documentation necessary”, said Damiano.  “Our attempt was different in that we did it during our event that had three stages of music along with art, dance and a great street party”.

Exclusive Blood Donor T-Shirts from the Lee Memorial Blood Center will be available on the night of ZOMBICON for all donors (while supplies last). These shirts cannot be purchased at any price… You will have to Bleed for them!

The Lee Memorial Blood Center
  All the blood collected remains in the Lee Memorial Health System, which includes the Children’s Hospital at HealthPark, the Regional Cancer Center and the only Trauma Center (which is located in Lee Memorial Hospital) within a 5-county radius. The blood also supports Cape Coral Hospital and Gulf Coast Medical Center. Lee Memorial Health System uses over 800 units of blood each week. One in three people will need blood in their lifetime. You never know when you or someone you know or love will need blood. So come out and Give the Gift of Life!

Requirements for donating blood: Weigh at least 115 lbs Be at least 16 years old (16 requires parental written consent) Be relatively healthy Provide photo ID Have 56 days between donations Eat a meal before donating blood and be sure to drink plenty of fluids before and after donation.

ZOMBICON Blood Drive 2010 Photo by Gloria Bonventre