Walking Dead fans flock to Senoia, Georgia for Camp Marimac Charity Bash

The Walking Dead fans got more than they bargained for at Camp Marimac Charity Bash in Senoia this Memorial Day weekend. 

I was fortunate enough to attend Camp Marimac Charity Bash this year. The Walking Dead fans invaded Lake Marimac in Senoia, Georgia, which was used as the town of Woodbury from the series.  This event was much more than your average con. There is a feeling of family and intimacy that you don’t get at any other fan event.

This event is the brain child of Oscar Rodriguez III, Casey Joseph-Miller and Michelle Geiermann-Trendov. They wanted to create more than just your regular con. They have made this into a wonderful event that supports local charities. So, you  get to meet and interact with TWD actors, artists and vendors as well as support wonderful causes.

Attendees could obtain tickets for the main event for FREE but they collected non-perishable food items for the Backpack Buddies of Georgia. Cash donations were also accepted with proceeds benefiting Backpack Buddies and S.A.A.G. / Southern Animal Alliance Group.

The best thing about this event is that everyone really does feel like family. And, if you are new they accept you right into the family. For a lot of us this was a family reunion of sorts. TWDFamily has strong bonds and a lot of us interact with each other daily. Friendships were renewed and new everlasting bonds of friendship were created. Because of the intimate nature of this even many have formed wonderful friendships with the cast members also.

There were a lot of other events going Friday-Sunday like a scavenger hunt, trivia night and many different tours. The best part was during each of these events you were paired with at least one cast member. So, a bystander could see a group from the scavenger hunt running through the town of Senoia lead by Peter Zimmerman, Lew Temple, or Nick Gomez. The trivia night was held at the Senoia Coffee and Cafe (aka the Woodbury Coffee House). Groups of 4-5 people were paired with their own celebrity team captain. I was excited to be paired with Pollyanna McIntosh. Trivia questions were presented and teams tried their best to answer. Some of those teams really knew their stuff.

Abraham’s Army, which is run by Chris Twellmann/German Abraham, located in the basement of The Woodbury Shoppe, held special group photo ops. You could choose from Hilltop, Prisoners, Heapsters, Kingdom and MANY more! Atlanta Movie Tours and Georgia Tour company also offered tours with your favorite cast members.

During the main event on Saturday BMNY Dead Cast, the podcasting due of Chris Valerius and Ryan Gallagher, hosted amazing group panels. These included a Hilltop group, Heapsters Group, the Prisoners, the Kingdom, and Alexandria. BMNY and The Everyday Grimes, a Rick Grimes/Andrew Lincoln cosplayer, hosted the cosplay contest.

Featured artists were #ArtbyOscarsRedHat, The Black and White Guy, Johnny Green, Rob Prior, Pixie Crystals, and Xander Berkeley. They all had a huge selection of art available for purchase and Prior and Berkeley were doing onsite projects.

Attendees were also treated to an excellent performance by Peter Zimmerman. Throughout the day cast members were available for autos and selfies in the cast tent. Xander Berkeley was on hand for autos and selfies or you could pay to have him draw a portrait of you! During the evening a special treat Markice Moore performed! And then Markice Moore & IronE Singleton had a dance off! Attendees had a fabulous time watching these two dance and have a great time!

Overall it was the best event I have been to. Granted I am familiar with a lot of the people involved but I believe even newcomers felt welcome and loved. Camp Marimac is set and ready for next years event being held TWO days, May 23 and 24 2020. So, mark your calendars and follow them on social media to keep up to date.