Zombies invited to roam Boonton Main Street

Homeless zombies still waiting for the Asbury Park Zombie Walk to come back from the dead can mark the date of Oct. 2, when Boonton Main Street will host its first Zombie Walk.

“We saw this as a no-brainer for our First Friday Late Night series,” said Boonton Main Street Executive Director Chris Manzella.

The nonprofit organization has engaged retailers and artists to stage monthly First Friday events over the last two years in downtown Boonton, helping to increase foot traffic and out-of-town visitors with themed events, including Music on Main and a Pizza Throwdown. The 2015 series ends with a tribute to service men and women on Nov. 6 and a “Chocolate Stroll” on Dec. 4.

Manzella stressed that Main Street will be open for regular vehicular traffic during the Zombie Walk, where patrons are encouraged to dress up as zombies and work their way through downtown from 5 to 9 p.m. Participating retailers will offer discounts, specials and promotions to visitors who get with the program.

Those who need a little help in getting their zombie mojo on should stop by the Boonton Post Office, where Cait’s Paints will have a kiosk to help them apply some ghoulish makeup.

“We thought this would be a great way to kick off the Halloween season, and ‘The Walking Dead’ starts its new season the next week, so we thought people would have fun with this,” Manzella said.

There’s no official contest prizes to award for the best zombies, but event sponsor Kessler Rehabilitation Center will be set up at the Boonton Main Street office (620 Main St.) to meet and greet the zombies and offer “swag bags,” according to Manzella.

Kessler recently soft-opened its newest location at 123 Hawkins Place at Del’s Village, just over the town boundary in Boonton Township, to offer outpatient physical-therapy services for people of all ages with sports, orthopedic or work-related injuries. A grand opening is scheduled for Oct. 21, when Kessler will offer free gifts and the chance to win tickets to see the New Jersey Devils.

Another event sponsor, radio station WDHA, will park its prize van at the Boonton Post Office to offer giveaways to zombies and their friends. Cabana Family Dental also is an event sponsor and will fill some swag bags as well.

“We wanted to see how this shakes out the first time around and possibly build on it in the future,” Manzella said.

Visitors are invited to stop by Halloween photo booths along Main Street for photos with a Halloween backdrop. Patrons are encouraged to share photos on social media using the hashtags #Bo0onton and #BoontonFF.

Boonton Main Street raffles off a gift card from a Boonton retailer each First Friday Late Night. On Oct. 2, a $25 gift certificate from Highlander Games and Comics is up for grabs.

For more information or to see a full list of participating retailers, visit www.boontonmainstreet.org.

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-917-9242; wwesthoven@GannettNJ.com.