By Meghan Finlayson
Writer
The University campus and Lewisburg community came together to celebrate Halloween in the First Annual Lewisburg Zombie Walk and Double Feature Movie that was held Monday night. The event benefited the Community Harvest hot meal program in Milton through the Million Penny Project (MPP).
Fundraising for the event began early.
“We approached IFC, specifically Paul Allegra [’13], about using it for the MPP fundraising because we felt it was a little different than past fundraising events. Plus, it was a program we felt Lewisburg residents would enjoy and participate in as well,” said Lynn Pierson, assistant director of community service.
“Jessica Paquin came up with the idea from other events she has planned over the years with movie production and promotion,” Pierson said.
The zombie walk started on campus at Vedder Circle and ended at the Campus Theater on Market Street. People were encouraged to dress up and walk slowly, like zombies, or run in front of the mob like victims.
“About 150 people showed up to walk, and the crowd included students, faculty, staff and Lewisburg residents … the number of victims definitely outweighed the number of zombies, but everyone was enthusiastic and had a great time,” said Paul Allegra, IFC Community Service and Philanthropy Chair.
Once walkers reached the Campus Theater, they were given the option to stay and watch two movies for $10. The movies featured were George Romero’s classic “Night of the Living Dead,” and the lesser known film, “The Feed.”
“The Feed” was filmed in Lewisburg and directed by Steve Gibson, New Media Developer at the University. It takes place in the Campus Theater and stars many local residents.
“We shot the film over about six weekends spanning June and July last summer. [It] really has taken on a life of its own and has been screened at a number of festivals around the country,” Gibson said. “Now we’re looking into distribution.”
“The Feed” has been an Official Selection in over 25 film festivals. It has also won many awards, including four best feature honors and a best director award.
“’The Feed’ follows a team of paranormal investigators broadcasting their annual show live from The Brenway Theatre, a reportedly haunted movie house in Pennsylvania. The film is patterned after the various ‘Ghost Hunters’-type shows that pop up everywhere on TV now, though for our movie we thought it best if the investigators actually found real ghosts,” Gibson said.
The cast and crew of “The Feed” were in attendance to celebrate the first anniversary of the film.
The Million Penny Project raises $10,000 annually for a local charity. The charity chosen this year was Community Harvest, a weekly hot meal program in Milton, Pa. Community Harvest prepares and serves food to approximately 200 individuals, and is open to anyone. The event raised nearly $1,000.
“It was great to see people come together and enjoy the night, using their imaginations to pretend and have fun like kids on Halloween,” Allegra said.
“We are already talking about what we can do next year to make this event bigger, better and even more successful.”