Thrill the World Event Rocks On at the Spotsylvania Town Center

By two in the afternoon, I was already starting to freak out. The zombies would start arriving any minute, and I needed to be prepared. My two daughters and I had to set up a backup sound system, two tables, tape off an appropriate area, and duct tape signs to keep them from blowing away in the pre-hurricane winds.

Our DJ, Mark Gonzales of InStep Entertainment, was calm and in control on the stage at the Spotsylvania Town Center. It was like he did this every day--well, I suppose he plays music and entertains crowds every day, but it's not always for a Zombie Mob.

This year, I had the opportunity to organize Fredericksburg's first Thrill the World Event, which happened on Saturday, October 28 at 3p at the Spotsylvania Town Center. When I originally decided to do this event, my goal was to organize 25 dancers and raise 100 lbs of food for the food bank.

Thrill The World is an annual worldwide simultaneous dance of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”  Every October, since 2006, Funky Zombies across the globe gather to synchronize their watches and dance to the greatest selling record of all time – Michael Jackson’s Thriller!

Our local Fredericksburg event drew 44 dancing zombies from all over the Northern Virginia and DC area, in addition to several volunteers and dozens of spectators. Pictures from the event are available on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ThrillTheWorldFredericksburg.

My husband, Joel, and I, teach swing dance on Sunday nights at Picker’s Concert Hall on Caroline Street. We decided to organize a local Thrill The World event to promote all types of dance in our area and to bring people together. I taught the dance to aspiring zombies two nights a week in September and October. All our Thriller classes were free of charge, but we asked that participants bring a canned food item for the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank.

We did not teach all these dancers who showed up on Saturday. Some learned on their own, from YouTube, or from other teachers like Patricia Beaulieu of Beaufunk dance, in south Stafford, or from Gottaswing in Vienna, VA.

The event was so energizing. When the song finished, there was this collective surge of energy and a big cheer went up. There were high-fives all around.

The costumes were just amazing. A lot of people went to a great deal of effort coming up with scary outfits and zombie makeup.

Many of the zombies were also experienced swing dancers, so the waiting time before and after the event was filled with impromptu jitterbug and Lindy Hop.

Due to hurricane Sandy, we have not yet been able to turn in Saturday's food donations to the food bank, but before the weekend, the event had already raised 92 lbs. of food, and the items collected Saturday filled the back of my CR-V. 

The event was truly heartwarming and inspiring, and I look forward to doing it again next year. But the next time around, I hope to be able to include more dance schools, gyms and day care centers.