Zombies, mazes, goats and Culture Days on the calendar

   One-Tank Trip for Sept. 21/13

   (c) By Jim Fox

   You can run but you can’t hide in Kitchener, play chicken in Ingersoll and after that, a little culture can’t hurt.

   The Running Dead, a four-kilometre “survival race” will be a real scream at Bingemans in Kitchener on Sept. 29.

   That’s when more than 100 “zombies are on the hunt for souls” in a fun race.

The zombies lie in wait during the Running Dead survival race in Kitchener.

   Hordes of zombies will chase participants trying to grab flags hanging from their belts.

   Once all of the flags, representing the runner’s souls, are gone the runner has lost the fight but can still complete the race.

    “This is a true test of a person’s endurance because you’re not just challenged by the course but also by the live zombies chasing you around,” said Mark Bingeman, president of Bingemans.

   The course winds through land along the Grand River and has “everything that endurance racers could expect with a few surprises thrown in,” he added.

   Designed for “all skill levels,” some of the challenging twists include rope crawls, rafting challenges and haunted village areas.

   “If you’re too chicken to participate, you can watch the spectacle from one of the many viewing areas,” Bingeman said.

Zombie alert!

   The race coincides with the opening of the haunted Scream Park that features six attractions including Ward 13 and the Zombie Shooting Gallery.

   Take part if you will but be forewarned that last year’s “chicken count” climbed to 1,115 people who were too frightened to finish.

   Camping is still available at Bingemans where there’s an amusement and water park, conference facilities, and new bowling centre and Boston Pizza. bingemans.com

   Amazing maze

   There’s a chicken theme this year at Leaping Deer Adventure Farm and Market in Ingersoll (544212 Clarke Rd.), between Woodstock and London.

   “We’ve created an amazing chicken-themed maze, with visitors on the search for Henrietta,” said Julie Budd.

   “Every year, we plant more than just corn in the field and the real challenge may in fact be finding what else we've hidden throughout the maze,” she added.

  Farmer Budd from Leaping Deer Adventure Farm and Market holds a pair of twin goats recently named by a Facebook fan “Macaroni and Cheese.”

   Also this year, visitors can try their skills at a “(rubber) chicken chuck’in,” and for a bigger thrill, there are air-powered cannons to shoot corn at targets.

   “The hillbillies return and will be shooting more than pumpkins from their cannon from Oct. 5 to Nov. 3,” Budd said.

   A day on the farm also includes visiting the animal shed with Shama the llama and Carmella, pig races, mini golf, tractor rides and a walking trail.

   There’s also a country store, bakery and museum as well as barbecue picnic lunches available.

   The maze and farm activities are open Saturdays and Sundays this month and next as well as Thanksgiving Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There’s a chicken-themed maze this year at Leaping Deer Adventure Farm and Market in Ingersoll.

   Admission costs $8.99; $6.99, students 10 and younger; no charge to age two; and $4 for the museum. leapingdeer.com; (519) 485-4795

   Embracing the arts

   If it’s a little bit of culture you’re craving, this coming weekend is for you.

   Culture Days, with hundreds of events in every province and territory, runs from Sept. 27 to 29.

   Arts and cultural events take centre stage during the event that’s designed to raise the “awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of all Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities,” said publicist Susan Smythe-Bishop.

Hazel McCallion, Mayor of Mississauga, finds her groove during Culture Days last year.

   The free activities give the public a look at the world of artists, creators, historians, architects, curators and designers at work.

   From a belly dance fusion fitness workshop in Richmond, B.C. to Celtic fiddlers in St. John’s, Ontario events include the Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour, Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s open rehearsal and a pow wow at the Waterloo Aboriginal Education Centre.

   In London, there’s a zine, catalogue and book sale, backstage tours of the Grand Theatre and the opening of London: A Newcomer’s Story and vintage baseball game at Fanshawe Pioneer Village.

   There are art classes at the Art Gallery of Lambeth, horse and carriage rides at Stratford City Centre and a chance to discover the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Vaughan.

   The event was inspired by Quebec’s annual Journees de la culture and the success of Alberta Arts Days (now Alberta Culture Days). For a complete list: culturedays.ca

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Jim Fox can be reached at onetanktrips@hotmail.com

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