A Halloween Tradition That Brings a Community Together
In Davis, California, a wonderfully unusual Halloween tradition has grown from an unlikely idea into a celebration of imagination, community spirit, and a mission that reaches far beyond October.
There is something delightfully unexpected about a town full of zombies riding bicycles.
Imagine the scene: costumed creatures rolling down the street, families embracing their inner monsters, Halloween music in the air, and a community gathering for a day when the ordinary gives way to the extraordinary. There are stunts to witness, pumpkins to launch, prizes to win, and even the possibility of watching costumed skydivers descend from the heavens.
It’s the sort of wonderfully strange spectacle that seems to belong in a Halloween dream.
But in Davis, California, the zombies have a purpose.
Beneath the makeup, the costumes, and the playful celebration of the macabre lies a story about perseverance, generosity, and the remarkable things that can happen when a community decides to bring an idea to life. What began as an ambitious attempt to create a Guinness World Record has grown into the Zombie Bike Parade Festival, a beloved local tradition that brings people together while helping provide custom adaptive tricycles to children with disabilities.
On Saturday, October 31, 2026, the festival returns, inviting the community to celebrate the season in a way that is equal parts imaginative, mischievous, and meaningful.
And yes, there will be zombies.
A Little Rejection, a Lot of Imagination
Every memorable tradition has a beginning. Sometimes, it starts with a grand plan. Other times, it begins with an idea that refuses to go away.
The story of the Zombie Bike Parade Festival reaches back to 2010 and 2011, when the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge held events known as the World’s Greatest Bicycle Parade. Lodge member Dave Rosenberg and his wife, Lea, later proposed a zombie-themed version, hoping Guinness World Records would establish a new category for the unusual undertaking.
Guinness declined.
For many ideas, that might have been the end of the road. In Davis, however, the enthusiasm had already taken hold. The town was excited, the concept had captured people’s imaginations, and the organizers saw no reason to let a disappointing answer spoil the fun.
The Lodge asked Aaron Wedra to chair the event, and the organizers connected the parade with NorCal Trykers, a newly established nonprofit dedicated to providing custom adaptive tricycles for children with disabilities. On October 20, 2019, approximately 250 riders took part in the inaugural ride. The 2.5-mile route began at Central Park, passed through UC Davis and downtown, and returned to its starting point.
There was just one essential rule for the zombies: say “brains” at both ends of the ride.
It was a wonderfully fitting beginning for a Halloween tradition. The idea was playful, the participation was communal, and the cause gave the event a purpose beyond the spectacle. That first parade raised enough money to fund two adaptive tricycles.
No world record was necessary. But Davis had found something worth keeping.
When Halloween Refused to Be Canceled
The festival’s early years brought a series of changes that helped shape its identity.
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted gatherings across the country, the organizers adapted. Rather than abandon the celebration, they transformed it into an open ride along the 12-mile Davis Bike Loop. Approximately 1,000 people participated, making it one of the few Halloween events in the region that year.
The following year brought another memorable addition: zombies falling from the sky. Costumed skydivers from Skydance Skydiving became the festival’s grand finale in 2021, adding an aerial spectacle that has continued in subsequent years.
Then the celebration grew.
In 2022, the event expanded into its first two-day Halloweekend, attracting approximately 3,500 people. By 2023, it had become a three-day celebration featuring a zombie scavenger hunt and its first BMX stunt show. In 2024, the organizers brought back a led parade and introduced the Zombie Ball.
The following year brought another unusual first for Davis: tethered hot-air balloon rides at the cemetery. Meanwhile, NorCal Trykers fitted nine children with new adaptive tricycles on the lawn. The event’s name evolved along the way, from the Zombie Bike Parade to the Zombie Bike Ride and eventually the Zombie Bike Parade Festival. Its format expanded, its attractions multiplied, and its crowds grew.
Yet the purpose at its center remained unchanged.
According to the organizers, the festival has raised approximately $50,000 over its first seven years and funded 42 adaptive tricycles for local children. Every year, NorCal Trykers has remained the beneficiary. For all the costumes, entertainment, and Halloween spectacle, those tricycles may be the most meaningful measure of the festival’s success.
Halloween Returns to Center Stage
This year, Halloween falls on a Saturday, giving the festival an opportunity to celebrate on October 31 itself for the first time since 2021—and for the first time since the event grew into a full Halloweekend festival.
The festivities begin early, with the Monster Run laser-run challenge scheduled for 8 to 10 a.m. at Community Park. The main festival follows from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with parade lineup beginning at 10:30 a.m. The parade rolls out at 11 a.m., traveling from Community Park to Mace Ranch Park and back along a route of just under five miles. At the halfway point, spectators can look forward to a StuntMasters BMX stunt show.
For those who prefer their Halloween celebrations without a bicycle, there are other ways to participate. Community Park will host more than 35 entertainment stations, offering an assortment of activities designed to make the day memorable for visitors of different ages and interests. Moreover, Halloween train rides, made available free of charge through the support of Supervisors Lucas Frerichs and Sheila Allen, will add a nostalgic touch. Visitors can also explore the Zombie Kingdom Quest, encounter live bats, enjoy inflatables, and discover several new attractions.
Among this year’s additions is the Monster Skate Jam, taking place at the park’s newly renovated skate park. Inventopia has built an Angry Birds pumpkin launcher, bringing a decidedly Halloween-worthy twist to the familiar game of launching objects through the air. Inspire Martial Arts will introduce Zombie Defense Training, giving visitors a chance to embrace their survival instincts in a suitably spooky setting.
The costume contest is expanding, too. More than 50 prizes are planned, compared with approximately 25 in most previous years. The offerings include $1,000 in gift cards from Acai Fresh, Yoloberry Yogurt, and Upper Crust Baking. NorCal Trykers families will also take part in a shorter Mini Parade near Holmes Junior High, providing another opportunity for the organization at the heart of the festival to participate in the day’s celebration.
And when afternoon approaches, the eyes of the crowd will turn skyward.
The Skydance Skydiving finale is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., weather permitting. It’s an appropriately spectacular way to bring the main festival toward its conclusion: Halloween characters descending from the sky while a community gathers below.
The day’s festivities will then continue downtown.
From 3 to 5 p.m., the Trick-or-Treat Trail will invite visitors to extend their Halloween adventures into the city. The UC Davis Marching Band is scheduled to march through the trail, followed by the Zombie Mash afterparty at Woodstock’s Pizza. The result is a celebration that moves beyond a single parade or park, connecting Halloween activities with the broader community.
The organizers project attendance of more than 4,000 people for 2026, with a fundraising goal exceeding $10,000 and a target of providing at least 10 additional tricycles. Those figures are goals rather than final results, but they reflect the continuing ambition behind an event that has grown considerably since its first 250 riders.
The festival also received a welcome honor this spring, when it was voted the fourth-best event in Yolo County in a Readers’ Choice poll. For the organizers, it’s recognition worth celebrating. For the children who may benefit from the event’s fundraising, the impact reaches beyond a ranking or a single Halloween afternoon.
Event Organizers and Producers
- The Zombie Bike Parade Festival is produced by the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge No. 169, The Bike Campaign, and the Davis Bike Club, with approximately 100 volunteers and more than 130 local groups contributing to the celebration.
- Dave and Lea Rosenberg helped bring the original idea to life. Wedra has guided the event as its director, while local businesses, community organizations, entertainers, and volunteers have helped it evolve year after year.
- Hallmark Properties’ Lawson Youmans has helped fund the skydivers since 2021. Davis illustrator Elijah Adorno created the origin comic that gave the festival its zombie mascot. Committee member Jess Banks brings a particularly fitting connection to the world of the undead: Banks was once a zombie extra on The Walking Dead.
These details add a unique personality to the story. This isn’t simply an event assembled from a checklist of attractions. It’s a tradition shaped by people who bring their own interests, talents, creativity, and enthusiasm to a shared undertaking.
And then there are the NorCal Trykers families. They are the reason the festival exists in its present form, and the reason its success cannot be measured by attendance alone. Custom adaptive tricycles can give children with disabilities new opportunities for mobility and participation. The organization’s work reminds us that access to play, exploration, and the simple pleasure of moving through the world matters.
The festival’s zombies may be the most visible participants, but the children who benefit from its generosity are at the heart of the celebration.
More Than a Halloween Spectacle
Halloween is a civic-minded celebration and has always offered us an invitation to imagine ourselves differently. For one night, we can become monsters, ghosts, witches, heroes, or creatures that have wandered out of the pages of a favorite story. We can step outside the ordinary and enter a world where creativity takes the lead.
Sometimes, that transformation is private: a costume assembled at the kitchen table, a carved pumpkin glowing on the porch, or a childhood memory that returns with the first cool evenings of autumn. Other times, it brings an entire community together.
That’s what makes the Zombie Bike Parade Festival such an appealing Halloween story. Its spectacle is wonderfully unusual, but its spirit is familiar. People come together to create something joyful, to share an experience, and to make a difference for others.
The tradition also offers a reminder about the nature of imagination itself. When their hoped-for world record didn’t materialize, they could have walked away. Instead, they allowed the idea to become something larger than the original ambition. It became a gathering place for creativity, community pride, and generosity.
Today, the parade’s success is reflected not only in the number of riders or the size of the crowd, but in the adaptive tricycles made possible by the people who show up to participate. That is a remarkable legacy for an event born from a rejected proposal.
Perhaps that’s the secret behind the festival’s enduring appeal. It doesn’t ask people to choose between having fun and doing good. It brings the two together to become a vehicle for something meaningful. And on October 31, as costumed cyclists gather, pumpkins take flight, BMX riders perform, and spectators wait for zombies to descend from the sky, Davis will once again demonstrate what can happen when a community embraces an unusual idea and transforms it into a civic-minded spirit.
The Guinness record never came to be. Something better did. A Halloween tradition with room for imagination, a place for everyone to participate, and a generous purpose that reaches well beyond the season. Because sometimes the most extraordinary things happen when we stop worrying about setting a record—and start thinking about what we can do together.
And sometimes, all it takes is a few zombies, a whole lot of heart, and a bicycle or two.
Event Details
Zombie Bike Parade Festival
Saturday, October 31, 2026
Community Park, Davis, California
Main festival: 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Parade: 11 a.m., returning around 12:30 p.m.
Costumed skydiving finale: 2:30 p.m., weather permitting
Downtown Trick-or-Treat Trail: 3–5 p.m.
The festival is free to attend. No bicycle is required to enjoy the festivities.
For event information, history, and press materials, visit zombiebikeparade.com.