Slammed Weekend In Grant Park

Via DNAinfo:

Hundreds of "zombies" are set to march Downtown this weekend, all while a nationally televised skate competition is rolling nearby.

The 8th Annual Chicago Zombie March will step off at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The parade, which could draw more than 800 made-up members of the living dead, will start at The Bean and proceed to Tribune Tower, Daley Plaza and possibly back to the Buckingham Fountain, according to its Facebook group page.

The zombie parade will coincide with the Mountain Dew Skate Tour taking place that day in Grant Park. The skate competition will be broadcast on NBC, perhaps offering a national audience some horrific fun along with action sports. And the Chicago Ale Fest, a craft beer festival, will also be pouring fancy brews Saturday at Buckingham Fountain.

The intermingling of zombies, craft beer and skating will make quite a stew Saturday in Grant Park, but its biggest booster is elated.

"I think it's great. Three Floyd's has a very popular beer called 'Zombie Dust' so maybe they'll all come together," said Bob O'Neill, president of the Grant Park Conservancy. "It's really cool how all these things come together, and that would only happen in a major city and a front-yard park like this."