The MOMbies, a group of Fairfield moms who dress up as zombies and dance to fundraise for metastatic breast cancer, are on a roll this Halloween, with one event this past Sunday and another coming up on Friday.
“It started off as a group of moms in Fairfield doing something fun for the neighborhood,” Jena Palladino, a MOMbie and registered nurse at Fairfield University’s Health Center, shared.
Now, the MOMbies have been dancing for 10 years and raised $700,000. 100% of their donations go to metastatic breast cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a center with several locations across New York and New Jersey.
Paul Herman of Press Play Motivation is the choreographer for the MOMbies, and Terry Davis, the founder, works behind the scenes to set up the events each fall.
“Sure, the costumes and makeup are a blast! Picture side-splitting laughter as we help each other with teased hair and zombie makeup… like we were teens again. But at its core, this is about connection. It’s about showing up, building friendships, giving back and having fun while doing it. Because when communities come together to play with purpose, amazing things can happen,”
Terry Davis said in a statement.
Palladino joined in 2019, a year in which the MOMbies performed at halftime during one of Fairfield’s basketball games. She said that events are different each year. Sunday’s event was held at Elicit Brewing Co. in Fairfield. Palladino described it as a “MOMbie party” with a Kendra Scott pop-up shop, face painting and three performances by the MOMbies. For the occasion, Elicit crafted a “MOMbies Brew.”
At the event, Palladino shared that young girls were coming up to the MOMbies for autographs. “They had pictures of us and were getting each MOMbie’s autograph,” she said. “[It] shows the strength of the community… we laugh, we lift each other up.”
At the moment, there are 52 MOMbies. In preparation for their events, “we practice every week, sometimes multiple times a week,” Palladino said. She added that a lot of MOMbies don’t have a background in dance, but still want to learn and have fun.
Many are also survivors of, or undergoing treatment for breast cancer. The MOMbies offer “support and solidarity” for these women.
“As a metastatic breast cancer patient and a MOMbie since 2016, I’m so grateful to dance with these women while building awareness about the dire need for metastatic breast cancer research. It has been such a joyful distraction from the everyday world of cancer,” Caryn Sullivan, a MOMbie said in a statement.
Palladino added, “Every step, every rehearsal is a reminder that there can be joy in something as heavy as metastatic breast cancer.”
The MOMbies will be performing Friday, Oct. 31 at Fairfield’s Town Hall with performances at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.
