SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Everybody has to have a passion. For Chris Barrett and Kristine Woolgar-Barrett it's zombies.

People dressed up as the undead for last year's "zombie walk" pose for a photo outside city hall. - photo courtesy of Chris Barrett Zombie Etiquette Zombies do: Shamble, moan, groan, beg for brains and have fun. Are responsible for your own corpse Stick to the route and stay together. Safety is important, even for the undead. Zombies don't: Don't go on the road. For safety reasons, the horde will stick to the sidewalks and obey all traffic laws. This also means do not distract traffic. Don't damage or deface property. This means any participating zombies wearing makeup on hands shouldn't touch any windows or leave blood marks for others to clean-up. Don't molest people. Eating brains is acceptable, but believe it or not, not everyone likes an affectionate zombie. People in the street may be moaned, groaned or stared menacingly at, but don't molest anyone not participating in the zombie walk.

The couple participated in Yellowknife's first zombie walk last year, in which more than 60 Yellowknifers walked through the city's downtown dressed as the undead.

Woolgar-Barrett won the prize for most disturbing costume for her outfit which featured a dead baby bursting through her stomach.

"It was awesome," said Woolgar-Barrett.

"Our daughter was there, she was one at the time and started groaning along with the rest."

She said her daughter Akira, who is now two-years-old, will be participating in the walk again this year.

The couple is helping organize the second annual event and provide assistance with zombie makeup.

"I hope a lot more people know about it this year," said her husband.

"(Last year) we were walking from the car and we had a few ladies stop and give us some dirty stares because we were walking with a baby that looked like she was beat and broken."

This year Woolgar-Barrett is planning to dress up as a zombie clown, a costume she has had ready for a year.

Prior to doing the make-up for his wife at the first zombie walk, Barrett said this is the first time he has ever done any kind of horror makeup. He added he learned how to create the makeup from websites.

"It's all over the Internet, how to create it and how to do it," Barrett said.

For specific types of make-up Barrett recommends the gelatin-based kind because it's edible.

"We didn't help out with the clinic last year but Jerry (Sweet, an organizer at last year's zombie event) was telling us he was slabbing powder on their faces, paint and a bit of rice for maggots," said Barrett.The couple said they hope the zombie walk will continue to grow in popularity.

"It's a big international phenomenon, it goes on in pretty much every city across Canada and a lot in Europe," Barrett said. "I hope there's one here every year."

The zombie walk starts at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Yk1 school board office parking lot and ends at 3:45 p.m. at city hall where judging and pictures will take place.

There will be a zombie clinic beforehand starting at 1 p.m. at Javaroma for those who need help with makeup.

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