Heat Doesn't Stifle Bristol Zombie Walk

Despite blistering heat, the first annual Bristol Borough “Zombie Stomp” took place Saturday.

The event was started by video game store Game Zombie owner, Dave Sabolchik, to help raise money for the indebted Bristol Senior Center on Woods Street.

The all-day event, started at 12 p.m and culminated in a zombie parade through the borough at 8 p.m. There was a low turnout for most of the day due to the weather, Sabolchik said.

"I was expecting at least a 100 (people). It's disappointing," Sabolchik said.

The event's Facebook page originally had almost 300 people signed up to attend.

Nearly 50 people, dressed up in ghoulish attire, enjoyed festivities like a zombie costume contest, mid-day water balloon fight and a raffle to win a Nintendo Wii.

Most of the participants were also very vocal about the cause.

Levittown resident 23-year-old Samantha Slivka brought her friend Ella Campagna from Buffallo, N.Y. to attend the stomp.

"It's nice to know people my age are out there actually working for a cause," Slivka said.

Stephanie Altmiller, a Guro-Style Lolita fashion enthusiast, said she came to the event with her own outfit ready to go.

Besides the chance to dress up in a ghastly fashion, the cause itself meant a lot to Altmiller; she works at a hospice care company.

"It matters a lot to me. It's not right to just let it shut down. Not everybody has air conditioning. Sometimes you need a place to stay. How could you do that to people," Altmiller said.

A few local business owners said they were more than happy with the event.

Bristol Mini Mart owner Ravinder Sharda said many straggling zombies and zomblettes were after cold drinks.

"They seemed like nice people, people who cared about each other," Sharda said.

While the heat may have been good for concession sales, the same couldn't be said about the donation totals. Midday into the event, Sabolchik said he estimated raising nearly $300 for the senior center.

The center, home of over 300 retired Bristol residents, has been in a dire financial straight for the better part of a year. It is currently in the red by over $30,000, and needs to pay it all off by January 2012 or face closure.

Despite the poor turnout, Sabolchik said he remains undeterred. He currently is in talks with the senior center to try another, equally ghoulish, fundraising effort this fall. The plan is to hold a haunted house during Halloween at the Wood Street center itself.

"It's a hometown cause. We are all going to be old one day, and we could only hope somebody will take care of us," Sabolchik said.