Boonton man wins Zombie Walk contest

One member of Boonton's "undead" population and his spouse will be living it up later this month in Morristown after winning the Daily Record's "Black and White and Dead All Over" contest.

Jeremy Westfall, a Wootton Street resident of Boonton, and his wife, Amy, were among the intrepid souls who turned out on a cold, rainy night for the Boonton Main Street First Friday Zombie Walk on Oct. 2. While there, they entered the Daily Record contest offering a prize of two tickets to see the touring production of the hit stage show "Evil Dead: The Musical," coming to the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown on Oct. 28.

Based on the "Evil Dead" movie series, considered cult classics by horror fans, the musical originated in Canada before moving to off-Broadway and a long resident run in Las Vegas.

"Very much a zombie fan and I can't wait to see the inspired Bruce Campbell's play," Westfall said, referring to the star and co-producer of the "Evil Dead" movies who endorsed the musical along with "Evil Dead" film director Sam Raimi. Campbell is starring in the upcoming TV series "Ash Vs. Evil Dead," also based on the films and, of course, set to premiere on Halloween.

The nasty nor'easter limited attendance to the First Friday event, but when the photos of four contest finalists were posted at DailyRecord.com, readers were invited to vote either online or by phone. Phone votes put the Westfalls over the top in a narrow race.

"It wasn't that bad," Westfall said of the weather. "It was all in the spirit. And (the zombie Walk) was an awseome idea."

"it was soggy this year, but I'm going to shake my fists at the rain gods next year for better weather," said Boonton Main Street Executive Director Chris Manzella. "The zombies will be back next year. They always come back."

Manzella added that the nonprofit Boonton Main Street has two more First Friday events on tap this year.

"We have our thank-you to service men and women on Nov. 6, and then on Dec. 4, we have our chocolate stroll," Manzella said. "We have some great sponsors for those events."

Boonton Main Street merchants also will participate in the national Small Business Saturday event on Nov. 28.

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