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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

BRRRRAAAAIIIINNNNSSSS!!!!!!!!!!! Credit: Kristin Brenemen

Fondren’s first Zombie Charity Crawl and Zombie Prom is Thursday, Oct. 27. The Miss-issippi Optometric Foundation, Fondren Association of Businesses and Fondren Renaissance Foundation present the event with an aim to raise awareness about children’s vision issues. All proceeds go to the Mississippi Optometric Foundation.

The Zombie Crawl Family Festival is from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the Duling School east lawn. The festival is free to the public and features a children’s costume contest at 6:30 p.m., a zombie costume contest at 7 p.m. and a pumpkin-decorating contest. Winners will be announced at 7:30 p.m. Plus, you’ll find face painting, a space jump, treats and the Market
in Fondren.

For a small donation, you can get yourself “zombified” with makeup, props and old clothes. Y101.7 will be on site with a live remote and music. Be sure to stop by the other exhibitor tents.

The Zombie Crawl itself begins at 6 p.m. from Morgan Place, heads to Old Canton Road, heads to State Street via Fondren Place and ends up where it started. At 8 p.m., stick around the festival area to view “Night of the Living Dead” on the inflatable screen.

The Zombie Prom is 8 p.m.-11 p.m. at Duling Hall and is $50 per person or $90 per couple. Tickets for this 21-and-over part of the evening may be purchased beginning at 7:30 p.m. Advance tickets are available at Ridgeland Eyecare Center (8 Professional Parkway, Ridgeland, 601-957-8444), Heroes and Dreams: Comics and Collectibles (5352 Lakeland Drive, Suite 1700, Flowood, 601-992-3100) or Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint (565 Taylor St., 601-368-1919). The Rocking Dead, aka The Jason Turner Band, will perform. Admission includes food from Mangia Bene and drink tickets. A Zombie King and Queen will be crowned at the end of the night.

Visit the Southern Optical Zombie Charity Crawl and Prom Facebook page or the Zombie Charity Crawl and Zombie Prom Facebook event page for information. Also, check here for a full version of the map

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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.