Kansas Karnage held its Topeka Zombie Walk for donations at 6 p.m. on September 26 at the Celtic Fox in downtown Topeka.

The Zombie Walk invited people to dress up as either zombies or zombie hunters and march around the Kansas State Capitol building to raise money for the organization Let’s Help Topeka. The cost to participate was either five cans of food, or $5.

Vendors set up shop near the entrance of the Celtic Fox, and encouraged participants to purchase knives and swords, zombie stickers, gorey makeup and spray paint blood.

Vendors included The Cutting Edge by David Butler, Thirty-One by Lisa Hamon, and gory makeup done by Dusty Fish. A tent was set up with concessions including grilled foods, soda and water.

“I’m glad that people came out today to have some fun,” said Dusty Fish, a vendor that featured gory makeup, “This is my first time at this event. I am a stay at home mom with a love for interesting makeup.”

Fish said that she was invited to this event by a friend that took interest in her horror makeup skills. She was happy that she had a venue to show off her work and see the costumes that people come up with.

Registration for the event started at 4 p.m., and gave people a chance to “flesh out” their costumes. Some came sporting fake wounds, masks, full costumes, fake guns and ammo and gave people a chance to help others get ready for their walk.

The walk began from the Celtic Fox and marched to get to the steps of the Kansas State Capitol building, where zombies and zombie hunters “battled it out” on the steps for some pictures.

Many families brought their children to this event, and some dressed up together as a group to join the walk.

“This is my first time at this event, but it has a great family atmosphere,” said Lisa Hamon, a vendor for Thirty-One.

Hamon said she wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from this event, but she was happy to see so many families participating. After the walk an awards ceremony took place handing out trophies to best dressed in different categories, such as adult woman, adult man, boys under 12, girls under 12 and then groups.

Some winners included the zombie baby, the family group of zombies and an “Indiana Jones” zombie hunter.

Louie Creek, a Zombie Walk organizer from Kansas Karnage, mentioned that the Zombie Walk takes place in Lawrence and Kansas City as well. It is an event to help out the community and raise money for a good cause.

Creek said it was clear that Topeka needed its own walk, and hoped to get more participants each year as they try to grow and raise money.

For more information on the Zombie Walk and Topeka Karnage call (785) 845-0419.