Thrill Morgantown 2012 Retrospective

Last Saturday, a group of local zombies got together to participate as local representatives in an attempt to break the world record for the largest global simultaneous Michael Jackson’s Thriller Flashmob in history. Results won’t be in for a while because somebody has to count all of the folks who participated and insure that they were all dancing the same dance (Documentation is featured on youtube video uploads).

Jamie and I just made it back into town a couple hours before the actual event, but she was practicing up during our last day in Columbus, OH. She had walked through a series of youtube videos that were created to teach the dance. I even practiced with her late Friday night, but felt like I was better equipped to document the event with photographs than become a zombie myself (although next year may be a different story).

And that’s what I’m writing about now. It was so cool to see 55 people step out of their comfort zones to dance this dance, and a number of them were friends, including the organizer, Gemma Hughes. The event raised awareness for WVU Children’s Hospital and Nuru International, but I believe that with a little bit more effort, the Zombie dancers and Nuru supporters of the greater Morgantown, WV area could make a Thrilling impact in fighting extreme poverty while having fun at the same time.

I know that Gemma was working in the moments immediately following the event to secure a solid cadre of volunteers to make the event even better next year. I certainly hope that I can be in town for the next Thrill Morgantown event, will you be there too?

Thrill The World Morgantown 2012

I first met Gemma in 2006 through my good friend who is now my wife, Jamie. Gemma is an incredible individual who lives her life with passion and reckless abandon. She is always 100% present when she engages in conversation with others, and she brings energy and her whole heart to whatever she does.

When she first arrived in Morgantown, she was working toward a degree in Exercise Physiology, and was setting fire to the WVU Student RecCenter through a new form of aerobic exercise called Zumba. Her energy was contagious, and she helped many others discover Zumba in the area as well as helping even more people awaken to a renewed desire for personal mental, physical, and emotional health.

Gemma has volunteered with various groups over the years, including taking a trip to Honduras with Habitat for Humanity, and last year, she combined a fun dance opportunity with an opportunity to help support WVU Children’s Hospital. This year she is adding Nuru International to the organizations being supported.  The event is called Thrill The World Morgantown, and it is part of the world’s largest simultaneous Michael Jackson’s Thriller Dance Flash-Mob. Last year the event happened in the WVU Mountainlair, and this year, the event is slated to take place October 27^th. In the same locale.

 

If you are looking for an opportunity to 1) Have Fun, 2) Learn the Thriller dance, 3) Make a difference in this world, then you need to go register for the event in Morgantown. There’s still plenty of time to learn the dance and get involved, but it is super-important to register in advance. People will get zombied up for the event, and in an effort to have adequate time to get make-up on, it’s important for Gemma and her crew to have a good idea of how many folks are participating.

Here’s hoping for a spook-tacular Thrill The World event in Morgantown!