More than 70 volunteers are hoping that Tucsonans will flock to the city’s wildest fundraiser this weekend.
ZOOcson — headlined this year by pink flamingos — will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, at the Reid Park Zoo.
“Our Chilean flamingos are such popular birds. They are so colorful and it is important for us to highlight the need to protect these animals in the wild. Highlighting the importance of conservation and protecting habitats is one of our big focuses at the zoo,” said Nancy Kluge, president of the Reid Park Zoo.
The new Chilean Flamingo exhibit, slated to open in summer 2020, will be enlarged by 50 percent when it is relocated to the entrance of the Zoo’s South American area.
“We are calling our master plan, ‘Bigger Spaces, Smiling Faces,’ with a focus on the animals having larger spaces while welcoming people to the zoo. It all fits perfectly with the stories about conservation that we are telling about our other animals from South America,” said Kluge.
Conservation is a priority for many of the volunteers dedicated to the Reid Park Zoo, according to Julie Kasper, a ZOOcson committee member for the past seven years.
“This is really a zoo that caters to children and adults in the community and is committed to conservation efforts. Lots of people have issues with zoos, but they are really the last stand in terms of protecting some of these animals that are being driven to extinction,” said Kasper, who began visiting the zoo regularly after she relocated to Tucson from the Philadelphia area 17 years ago.
She is impressed with the improvements that have been made over the years and with the caliber of the animals and their caretakers. Additionally, she appreciates the zoo’s manageable footprint, which allows for people of all ages and abilities to easily visit the exhibits.
“When friends come from out of town to visit me, one of the first things I do, no matter how old they are, is bring them to the zoo. If you go online to TripAdvisor or Yelp or other sites, the zoo always gets really high ratings. When you pull up the comments, people all say that ‘The animals can be seen up close and personal,’ and ‘It is a great zoo with a great staff.’ It is one of those things that we, as Tucsonans, can be really proud to have in our city,” Kasper said.
Kasper is also proud to assist with ZOOcson, which is hallmarked by the participation of local restaurants and by one-of-a-kind live auction items featuring unique zoo-themed experiences. Among the offerings are “Breakfast with Semba,” the pregnant elephant; a “Jaguar Dinner” with the new jaguar slated to arrive this fall; “Dr. Zoo Happy Hour” with the zoo veterinarian; and a “Murder Mystery Dinner” at the zoo for 15 guests.
“For those of us who are foodies, this is kind of like heaven. You can wander around the zoo from one restaurant’s station to another and stuff yourself on delicious food, then bid on very unique auction items that are attuned to what the zoo is all about,” Kasper said. “They really give people more intimate knowledge of all that goes on at the zoo.”
