Every year, a little deader

The first Zombie Bike Parade grew out of a failed Guinness World Record attempt. The Davis Odd Fellows had run "World's Greatest Bicycle Parade" events from the Lodge in 2010 and 2011, and when member Dave Rosenberg and his wife Lea proposed a zombie-themed version, the Lodge hoped Guinness might create a new category for it. Guinness said no, but by then, in Aaron Wedra's words, there was "so much community support that we never lost enthusiasm for a second."

The Lodge tapped Wedra, then a Davis Enterprise ad rep and graphic designer at Smartz Graphics, to chair the event, and folded in a fundraising mission for NorCal Trykers, a new nonprofit providing adaptive tricycles to kids with disabilities. On Sunday, October 20, 2019, about 250 riders registered ($5 each, the only year the event ever charged), gathered at Central Park, and rode a roughly 2.5-mile route onto the UC Davis campus, through downtown, and back, saying "brains" at both ends as the only real rule.

Central Park hosted food trucks, live DJs, a green screen photo booth from Action Flipbooks, and a Mirror Image Dance Company Thriller flash mob. More than 35 sponsors backed the first year, and the ride funded 2 adaptive tricycles for NorCal Trykers, a modest number that would grow every year after.

The pandemic forced a full redesign. Instead of a led parade with a start and finish line, 2020 became an open, socially distanced ride: hop on the 12-mile Davis Bike Loop anywhere, ride either direction, noon to 3 pm, masks required, no grouping. Bike City Theatre Company staged sketch scenes at points along the loop, zombie bike mechanics offered free repairs, and photographers waited at designated spots instead of one central stage.

Close to 50 partners backed the reinvented event, with Visit Yolo and Visit Davis appearing as major sponsors for the first time. Pannier Foods stepped in as what organizers called an "11th-hour major sponsor" and fed more than 40 volunteers. Good Day Sacramento and Davis Media Access both covered the ride, giving it its first regional broadcast attention.

About 1,000 riders participated, roughly quadruple the first year's turnout, and the ride funded 6 adaptive tricycles for NorCal Trykers. Organizers later described 2020 as one of the only Halloween events that happened anywhere in the region that year.

2021 kept the open-loop format but added two traditions that are still central to the festival today. Skydance Skydiving, flying out of the Yolo County Airport since 1987, brought its first zombie-themed grand finale to Community Park, 3:00 to 3:15 pm, right after the ride wrapped, with FAA approval and PRO-rated jumpers funded by Lawson Youmans of Hallmark Properties and Mathias Klein of Klein Hardwood Flooring. Bob Bowen took over as the drop zone's emcee, a role he still holds.

The same year, organizers launched the first downtown Zombie Mash afterparty at Davis Commons, reasoning that the skydiving crowd was, in their words, "a captive audience" that could give downtown Davis "an economic boon." Bike City Theatre Company ran ten acts along the loop, and Mirror Image Dance Company performed Thriller at the skate park.

Roughly 70 partners backed the event, more than 2,000 people participated, and the ride raised $6,300 for NorCal Trykers, funding 7 adaptive tricycles.

2022 was the festival's first two-day "Halloweekend Festival," and its biggest year by turnout. Saturday brought Zombie Paintball and a Pre-Bike Brew Party at Sudwerk; Sunday's ride ran with about 15 entertainment stations, from a giant inflatable octopus DJ party on the UC Davis West Quad to Citrus Circuits' "Rotting Robots" and the Davis Fencing Academy's swords-and-lasers demo. The skydiving finale returned, now funded by Lawson Youmans and Dawn Coder of Coldwell Banker Select, and the Zombie Mash afterparty moved to E Street Plaza with fire dancers and the Sacramento Zombie Club.

That night, the Odd Fellows Lodge hosted a sold-out comedy fundraiser with Davis native and MTV Wild 'N Out cast member Brent Pella, $50 a ticket.

With 139 partners and Consumers Guide mailing the event to 50,000 homes, the festival drew an estimated 3,500 participants, its all-time peak turnout, and raised $7,600 for NorCal Trykers (8 trikes), plus smaller gifts of $500 to The Bike Campaign, $603 to the Lodge Hall Board, and $474 to Davis Cub Scouts.

2023 stretched the festival to three days for the first time, with Visit Davis and the City of Davis added as co-presenters. Friday brought the Davis Food Co-op's Halloween Block Party; Saturday added paintball, a Mirror Image Dance Company Trunk-or-Treat, and an 80s cover band at Sudwerk. Sunday's ride ran with more than 15 stations and debuted the Zombie Kingdom Quest, a stamp-collecting scavenger hunt rewarding a free board game and bounce house access. The City of Davis cut the ribbon on a new Community Park Bike Pump Track the same day, and the downtown afterparty featured the festival's first StuntMasters BMX stunt show.

More than 150 partners backed the event, and Aaron Wedra sat for a KDVS radio interview titled "How Did I Get Here," walking through the festival's origins. Wind kept the day's turnout somewhat smaller than the prior year's peak. Sponsors still raised about $9,000 for NorCal Trykers, funding 9 adaptive tricycles.

After four years as an open loop, 2024 reverted to a led parade: Community Park to Mace Ranch Park and back, under 5 miles, with a "halfway hoorah" at Mace Ranch featuring brain juice (pink lemonade), Explorit science demos and StuntMasters BMX. Davis Bike Club joined the Odd Fellows and The Bike Campaign as a third host organization. Community Park itself hosted a professional stage newly dedicated to the nonprofit Friends of Watermelon Music, live bats, and Bike City Theatre Company actors performing unmasked for the first time since the pandemic.

Saturday night brought the 1st Davis Zombie Ball, an 18-and-up ticketed night at the Odd Fellows Lodge sponsored by Bohème Hip Used Clothing, benefiting Thriving Pink. It sold out, and organizers said they had to turn people away at the door. An origin-story post that October finally named the founders, Dave and Lea Rosenberg, and the full founding committee.

More than 130 partners backed the event; the parade drew 1,000-plus bicyclists and about 2,000 total attendees. NorCal Trykers received $8,000 (8 trikes), with additional gifts of $600 to Thriving Pink, $500 to Friends of Watermelon Music, and $100 to Toys for Tots.

2025 packed in more new things than any year before it, and one of them made Davis history: free tethered hot-air balloon rides at the Davis Cemetery & Arboretum, powered by the Davis Food Co-op, the first time it had ever been done in this town. More than a hundred people got a turn in the basket, some queueing from 5 am, while NorCal Trykers fitted 9 children with new adaptive tricycles on the cemetery lawn. Weather moved the balloons to Saturday, November 1, which turned them into the festival’s closing ceremony rather than its opening.

Friday brought a Davis Arts Center open studio and a free Watermelon Music haunted house. The parade debuted the Toys for Tots Halloween Train, a rented California Dream Express funded by Supervisor Lucas Frerichs, ran with more than 20 entertainment stations, and closed with the Skydance Skydiving finale. The 2nd Zombie Ball added a Red Carpet Costume Showcase with professional photography. Davis illustrator Elijah Adorno published a two-page origin comic, and Matthew Strong of Action Flipbooks was named “Zombie Prime” for six years of photo booth work.

About 500 bicyclists rode and more than 2,000 people came to the festival across the weekend. More than 150 partners backed the year, NorCal Trykers received $9,451, the festival’s largest single-year gift so far, and Thriving Pink received $500.

Halloween falls on a Saturday in 2026 and the festival lands on the day itself for the first time since 2021, and for the first time since it grew into a whole Halloweekend. Community Park runs 11am to 3pm, the parade rolls out at 11am and is back around 12:30, and the BMX stunt show is waiting at the halfway point at Mace Ranch Park. More than 25 entertainment stations, train rides, live bats and bounce houses, and the Skydance Skydiving finale at 2:30. The Downtown Trick-or-Treat Trail follows from 3pm to 5pm. More than 50 costume prizes this year, up from around 25 in most previous years.

The Friday before, the Zombie Halloween Party moves to Sudwerk Brewing, adults only, still benefiting Thriving Pink. The Zombie Mash afterparty returns to Woodstock’s Pizza. In spring 2026 the festival was voted 4th Best Event in Yolo County in a Readers’ Choice poll.