Ben Wiggins has a cool idea. Let’s all dress up like zombies, float down the
French Broad River, a waterway that needs our love and attention, and set a world record while doing it.
Sounds like fun to me.
It’s kind of a good time for a great cause, but hopefully, Asheville secures the world record and then we all jam out to Queen’s “We Are the Champions”.
This city deserves it. But it can’t happen without a lot of people. Hundreds of people. And that’s where you come in.
Get out your makeup and inner tubes and prepare to hit the river. Wiggins answers our most pressing questions about the upcoming zombie float in September.
1) First of all, you are asking hundreds of people to dress up like zombies and float down a river to beat a record set by Portland, Oregon? Where did this idea come from?
The idea actually came about first and foremost as trying to break the world record. The zombie idea just came from the name and a basic understanding that zombies make everything more awesome!
2) I agree that zombies make everything more awesome, but the living dead weren't a part of the original Portland record. Why zombies?
Because as we all know zombies can't swim so they need some sort of vessel. The most basic being a tube which I think would be the closest to their level and comprehension of basic mechanics if they were going to take to the water.
3) You are attempting to break a legitimate world record with Guinness. What are they requiring during the float in order to get the record?
Guinness is requiring that we all hold onto each other for a minimum of 30 seconds. One person per tube. The other folks have actually done it as a line. We are interpreting the "line" part a little differently. After all we are zombies and have no idea what the hell a line is. It doesn't say the line has to be single file! We also have to provide viable count methods..footage from the air...photos...the list goes on and on.
4) The river is also a really important component, not only to this event, but to this area. What do you want people to know about the waterway?
Ultimately, we would like people to have fun and enjoy what I like to call an urban recreational waterway. Every weekend there are thousands of people on the French Broad either from the Bent Creek River Park down to Hominy Creek or the more popular section from Hominy Creek down to Asheville Adventure Rentals and every section before and after those. I would like people to know more about the organizations and people that are working tirelessly to make the river a safer and more enjoyable resource to beat the heat around Western North Carolina.
5) What do float participants need to know and do to help break this record? (ie registration, what to bring, etc. . . )
People will be registering online for the event and they will be able to print a waiver for it as what to bring with them. They will be assigned a color for which group they are in. Everyone will park in one area and be shuttled to the [put in] after checking in and getting a wrist band. Participants will know in advance which group they are in and ideally will drop their tubes off on the way to the parking area. There will be volunteers to assist in keeping an eye on peoples’ stuff. After the float, people can take out at their pre-assigned takeout and get shuttled back to their car or they can fend for themselves. All of the details will be posted soon.
6) Is there anything else you want to add here?
This is the first year of what we hope can be an annual event that grows into an all day thing with food and music and beer. That being said, this is also the first year and are on quite a time crunch so we ask that people be patient with us. It is a little bit like herding cats the first year and every year after that will get smoother. Also, we are trying to keep this event free for participants so spending money with our sponsors will help ensure we keep it that way.
The Float is Saturday, September 20, at 1:30pm. More details will be posted soon on the event’s Facebook page:
Tube-ocalypse: Zombie Float and World Record Attempt!
The page says the float event is in conjunction with
Western North Carolina Alliance,
French Broad Riverkeeper, and
Asheville Adventure Rentals.
So far, nearly two and a half thousand people say they are coming via Facebook. If even half that appear, the world record will come to our city.
Asheville, let’s go for the win. Follow the Facebook page for the latest information.
I’ll see you at the river.
