Zombie outbreak expected

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A zombie outbreak is expected at Vernon's Polson Park Saturday, but that's a good thing.

The Running Dead takes place at the park from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is a JCI Vernon fundraiser.

At 11 a.m. the race for survival begins. Each participant will be given a race belt with three lives (flags). Participants will have to avoid hoards of zombies along the race route in order to keep their 'lives'.

For every life a participant finishes the race with, they can enter to win race prizes which will be drawn at 1 p.m.

Participants will run (or walk) along a marked route while being chased by the undead. A portion of the money raised from the event will go toward Teen Junction, which provides youth 13-18 with a safe, non-judgemental, substance-free environment where they can connect with friends and staff.

The remainder of the funds will go toward JCI Vernon programs.

Co-organizer Tiffany Roos said the run is a family friendly event and the zombies will not be too scary.

“There will be zombies, but they will be minimal,” said Roos. “We try to keep it as tame as possible because of how young some of the participants will be.”

Roos said there will be around 50 'zombies' made entirely of volunteers.

“There is a lot of interest in being a zombie,” she said. “It's a lot of fun.”

Tickets for the event can be purchased online.