Harvey McDonald, founder of the Birmingham Pokewalk, with fancy dress fundraisers in Corporation Street
Hundreds of Pokémon fans dressed in creepy costumes and took to the streets on Saturday, as they played popular game Pokémon Go to help raise money for charity.
The special Halloween-themed Pokéwalk, inspired by and incorporating popular gaming app Pokémon Go, began in Victoria Square with a long trail of fancy dress fundraisers snaking their way around Birmingham city centre while cheering, chanting, posing for photos and surprising passers-by.
The frightfully festive walk, during which fans of the franchise walked through the city catching Pokémon monsters, took place in aid of Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
After the Pokémon trainers scoured the streets hunting for the highly-sought creatures, they all headed to a frighteningly family-friendly Halloween party at Second Cup café in New Street, complete with fiendish fancies, musical mayhem and a hair-raising raffle.
Hundreds of Pokemon fans and Halloween fundraisers came together to help Birmingham Children’s Hospital
23-year-old Harvey McDonald, who co-organised the walk with youngsters Maya Shrestha and Harry Alimo, said:
“I am blown away by the amount of people that turned out for the event. It’s great to see so many people getting involved and raising money for a really worthwhile cause. Thank you to everyone who turned out, all of the volunteers we had and a massive thank you to all of our sponsors who made this event possible!”
The Halloween Birmingham Pokewalk attracted creepy cosplay and Pokemon roleplay
Birmingham Pokewalk co-organiser Maya Shrestha in fancy dress Pokemon cosplay
Edgbaston student Maya Shrestha, 19, attended the event as Team Magma Grunt from Pokémon Omega. She added:
“It was an absolute delight to be a part of this event. The turnout was just incredible and the atmosphere was so positive. My heartfelt thanks go out to everybody who joined us for the day and gave us their support – and also to the rest of the public who were so patient with us as we crawled through the city! I’d also like to give a shout-out to our kind supporters who made all this possible. I hope everybody had as much fun as we did, and that they’ll join us again next time!”
Harry Alimo, Harvey McDonald and Maya Shrestha (left to right) make up the organising team for the Birmingham Pokewalk
Harry Alimo, also 19, was shocked by how many people joined the walk, despite the cold weather.
“I thought it’d be a smaller turn-out but the sheer numbers of people were incredible to see. It’s good to see the efforts of everybody involved helped to raise money and they had lots of fun at the same time.”
A family in classic Halloween costumes attend the charity Birmingham Pokewalk
Pokemon fans attended the Halloween Birmingham Pokewalk to play Pokemon Go around the city centre
The Birmingham Pokewalk organising team with YouTuber Charlie McDonnell, who donated a copy if his new book ‘Fun Science’ towards the event’s charity raffle
During the day, the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery joined forces with the event, offering Pokeball badges to visitors who caught Pokémon at the venue.
The second Birmingham Pokéwalk was also supported by the TokyoToys store, which donated several bags of merchandise to compliment the animation franchise. Waterstones additionally donated a copy of YouTuber Charlie McDonnell’s ‘Fun Science’, which was inscribed by the author himself, during his visit to the city. The donations were all added to a special raffle held in the evening.
Mark Rogers dressed up as skeleton detective Skulduggery Pleasant at the Halloween Birmingham Pokewalk
A couple in ghoulish attire during the Halloween-special Birmingham Pokewalk
Young and old attended the Birmingham Pokewalk to play Pokemon Go and raise money for charity
Birmingham Pokewalk founder Harvey McDonald with youngsters dressed up as Pokemon character Pikachu
The walk was given extra eeriness after partnering up with the Zombie Walk team too, to coincide with the weekend’s Halloween celebrations.
The money raised from the event has been pledged to the Birmingham Children’s Hospital’s planned £3.65 million centre for children with rare diseases, the first of its kind in the UK.
Miranda Williams, Public Fundraising Manager at the hospital, said:
“We love how Harvey and the rest of the Pokéwalk team have taken the latest social media craze and ingeniously turned it into a fundraiser. We’d like to say a huge thank you for their incredible support.
“The money donated from the Pokéwalk will make a massive difference to our brave young patients and their families!”
Staff at Waterstones Birmingham donated a copy of Charlie McDonnell’s ‘Fun Science’ book to the Birmingham Pokewalk event for a raffle
The Halloween Birmingham Pokewalk setting off from Victoria Square in the city centre
Birmingham Pokewalk organiser Harvey McDonald (right) with Emily Rogers (left) from Second Cup in Birmingham during the event’s after-party
Jags Manhota, manager of Second Cup in Birmingham, with Birmingham Pokewalk volunteer Adam Yosef in Halloween make-up
Young Pokemon Go enthusiasts dressed up as Pokemon trainers attend the Birmingham Pokewalk over the Halloween weekend
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The Halloween Pokéwalk took place in Birmingham on Saturday 29th October from 2pm, with an after-party at Second Cup cafe from 6pm until 10pm.
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