how to create regions on zen
In the file your_theme.info you should add

regions[new_region] = New Region


regions[new_region] this is the machine name so the variable will be $new_region

Then on page.tpl.php you should add the html and the php like

&lt;?php
if ($new_region) :?&gt;
&lt;div id="new-region"&gt;
&lt;?php print $new_region; ?&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;?php endif; ?&gt;


Remember to flush the cache and do the performance after you modify page.tpl.php