Zombie prom breathes life into Boys and Girls Club
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RONAN — The second annual zombie prom at Ronan's community center drew a crowd of all ages. Zombies, as event organizer Sharla Talsma said, do not discriminate based on age.
"I saw it on the Internet and it looked like fun," Talsma said. "It's something that, community wise, everyone could come to. We've had entire families come and get zombified and dance and have a blast."
Last year, the fundraiser brought in $700 for the Boys and Girls Club. It was so popular that event organizer Shelly Cordis and Talsma spent two hours doing makeup for 50 to 60 dancing zombies. Cordis said because the event is not affiliated with any school and is open to everyone, some children that are often left out of these activities have the opportunity to attend.
"The (fifth through eighth-graders) always seem to get left out when it comes to dances and stuff. We had a lot of compliments that finally, they got to do something," Cordis said. "It's really cool to see all those kids out there."
Cordis and Talsma use this opportunity to practice doing makeup for Ronan's annual haunted house. Ronan Telephone Company donates the building for a few days every year. Talsma sells candy at her business year-round and uses the profits to pay for props and animatronics for the haunted house. This year, the haunted house will run for two days — Oct. 27 and Oct 31.
Whatever the haunted house earns, the phone company matches. Last year, they raised $3,000 total — and all of it went to the Boys and Girls Club.
"It's kind of our obsession. We're both Halloween freaks so it's a good outlet," Cordis laughed.
Talsma said last year, the haunted house had people waiting for several hours with lines around the block, "and it was cold." This year, they'll have 13 different rooms.
"Two years ago, we had two people pee their pants. We're going for it again this year," Cordis said.
In years past, the haunted house has seen terrified parents leave their children, their shoes and jewelry.
"Crying, screaming, crawling away on their hands and knees, it was awesome," Cordis said.
In addition, a senior citizen was so scared last year that he actually beat one of the workers with his walker.
"There's no greater compliment than to get beaten up by a 75-year-old man in a walker," Cordis said.
Out on the dance floor, AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" blared through giant speakers, and zombies of all ages jump around in the fog and strobe lights. Jennifer Rolfsness, dressed as a zombie housewife, brought her two children to the event.
"The kids have been asking me since 2 p.m. if they could start getting dressed. They're really excited," Rolfsness said.
Alexis Moran and her family and friends had planned to do an "Alice in Wonderland"-themed zombie party, but decided against it in favor of an all-out zombie family.
"Everyone dressing up is awesome," Alexis said.
While no king or queen was crowned at this year's prom, the Boys and Girls Club did hold a drawing for a 1997 4.0-liter Jeep Wranger and a Remington Model 70 .308-caliber hunting rifle with a scope. Raffle tickets for these items have been sold throughout the Flathead Reservation for the past several months.
Salish Kootenai College student Taylor Shield won the Jeep, while Brit Schliep won the hunting rifle. Executive director John Schnase said the Boys and Girls Club spent about $7,500 on the Jeep and promotional items during the raffle. The club raised more than $11,000 by selling raffle tickets for the Jeep, and the zombie prom raised $467 for the club.
