Finding the treats in the not-so-scary Halloween season

The zombies are coming.

Really. The zombies are coming.

As I wrote in a column not long ago, it is getting to be that time of year. You know, autumn and the Halloween season.

And this Saturday downtown Elizabethtown is being taken over by zombies.

Dancing zombies, no less.

OK, so maybe not all the zombies will be dancing, but at least some of them will.

The zombies are just part of 2012 Zombie Fest. This first-ever event will include a costume contest, silent auction, live music, chili cook-off and zombie flash mob, among other activities.

Zombie Fest occurs during the monthly Second Saturday event, and it’s shaping up to be a lot of fun.

Seriously, how can it not be fun to watch a bunch of zombies dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in the heart of downtown Elizabethtown? I hear some belly-dancing zombies will perform afterward.

Yeah, you read that right: belly-dancing zombies.

I’m really liking the sound of this event. Not only does it seem like it will be a lot of fun, it should be a great draw for the historic downtown area.

I’ve also agreed to help judge the costume contest.

Also Saturday, ‘D’ Man and the Alley Hounds, a blues band, will be playing on the sidewalk.

Blues and zombies. What a combo.

But there’s more.

Members of the Central Hardin High School drama club will perform a scene from their production of “Of Mice and Men” during a band break.

Blues, Steinbeck and zombies.

Where else are you going to get something like that?

At Morrison Lodge, the Masonic lodge on North Mulberry Street, that night Aron Houdini is scheduled to appear. The nephew of famed magician, Harry Houdini, Aron performs illusions, magic and escapes.

OK.

So that’s blues, Steinbeck, zombies and magic.

That’s a lot for one downtown area and it’s by no means all that’s going on there that day. And it doesn’t stop.

Some interesting and enjoyable things are happening around the square the rest of the month. They make for some busy weekends for me but happily so.

Last weekend the downtown area saw Paranormal Boot Camp and paranormal investigations. The weekend of Oct. 26 brings with it Nightmare of the Square. Think coffin race, pumpkin drop, haunted hayrides, scavenger hunt and other activities.

I’ve been asked to help out with Nightmare on the Square as well.

This all leads, of course, to Halloween night.

If this year turns out to be anything like last year, when Trunk or Treat downtown drew hundreds of kids of all ages and required an extra trip to the store to replenish candy, Rebecca and I will have our work cut out for us.

But this is the kind of busy I like.

Downtown Elizabethtown is vibrant with activity and around every corner awaits another treat.

Nothing scary about that.

Robert Villanueva can be reached at (270) 505-1743 orrvillanueva@thenewsenterprise.com.