Boo at the Zoo event will aid New Mexico BioPark Society
Boo at the Zoo event will aid New Mexico BioPark Society
The event formerly known as Zoo Boo held each year at the ABQ BioPark Zoo has new name and purpose.
“This year, the BioPark Society took it over, and it is now Boo at the Zoo, and it’s a fundraiser,” said Taylor Pellegrini, New Mexico BioPark Society events director. “It’s the first year that it’s been a fundraiser. We saw that there was a huge opportunity to keep a lot of the dollars here. We had a radio group that was a sponsor of the event, and they sold all of the booths, and so they got to keep a majority of the funds, and we saw that there was an opportunity for us to keep all of them, so we decided that we were going to reimagine the event and make it into a fundraiser.”
Boo at the Zoo will remain a safe trick-or-treating event, with plenty of educational components.
“We will have keepers and docents out, and they will be talking about the enrichment that will be going into the exhibits,” Pellegrini said. “We will also have the enrichment stations where kids can paint pumpkins that will go into the elephant exhibit, the cats, primates, and we’re going to teach them a little about how we keep the animals happy and engaged in their enclosures, and they will be able to participate in that, which is really cool.”
There will be a couple of feedings in the reptile house, as well as some Halloween-related fun, including a clown contortionist and a magician.
“We have somebody coming out explaining what psychic readings are, and they’re also going to give you tips on how to become more psychic yourself,” Pellegrini said. “… There’s a lot of entertainment that will be there that has never been. There’s a demonstration on palm readings so you can see what the lines in your hands mean.”
Costume recognition will replace a costume contest this year. Inflatable costumes will not be allowed because the outfits agitate the animals. Full face paint or masks are not allowed for ages 13 and older. Toy weapons also will not be allowed. Attendees are asked to wear family-friendly costumes that are appropriate for all ages.
“We will have kind of, like, secret shoppers in the crowd,” Pellegrini said. “It’s 120 tickets, so we will give them to people that we see have done super-great job on their costumes and they will get a little goodie bag up at the front as they leave. It’s got special candy and coupons. … It’s nice, too, because we did the costume contests last year and you see these kids that maybe don’t have the same economic status as other ones, and we just want to make sure we’re recognizing everybody that looks like they tried.”