Lansings Most Popular Halloween Extravaganza is Boo at the Potter Park Zoo

By Billie Harris

Lansing, MI - Little ghosts, goblins, rhinos and monkeys are invited to one of Lansing’s most popular Halloween extravaganzas, Boo at the Zoo! Presented by The Blue Care Network of Michigan and Celebration Cinemas, Boo at the Zoo offers loads of family fun on Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25 from noon to 4 p.m.

The event, offered by Potter Park Zoo and the Potter Park Zoo Society, is jam-packed with seasonal activities and festive fun for all ages ensuring a good time for the whole family, including face painting, kids’ crafts, hay rides, live animal presentations, a bake sale and craft show. This year’s event also includes a new and improved Boo tunnel and a brand new pumpkin launching trebuchet game. Guests are encouraged to dress in costume for the occasion.

The chills and thrills will be more exciting than ever as Boo at the Zoo debuts Scarecrow Alley, a Halloween display created from entries in the zoo’s scarecrow building contest. These animal-themed scarecrows will line the pathways helping to transform the zoo for a hauntingly good time. Prizes will be awarded for the top three scarecrow finalists. Find out more information about how to enter this and other zoo contests at the zoo’s website www.potterparkzoo.org.

In addition to all of the exciting activities available for visitors, the zoo will provide some holiday fun for the animals as well! On Saturday October 24, 2009 at 1 p.m., guests will have a chance to watch the otters bob for apples in their exhibit. At 3 p.m., they can watch the red-ruffed lemurs trick-or-treat for apples and produce in their exhibit. Then on Sunday, October 25, 2009 at 1 p.m., Daisy, the zoo’s female red panda, will get her chance to join in the holiday fun followed by the spider monkeys at 2 p.m.

“Boo at the Zoo has become one of the largest family-friendly Halloween events in the Lansing area,” says Zoo Society Director Diane McNeil. “Everything is designed to be merry, not scary!”

Regular zoo admission rates apply. Admission is $4 for residents, $10 for non-residents, $2 for kids up to 16 years old and free for kids 3 and younger. Zoo members receive free admittance. Strip tickets are available for $1.00. The strip ticket will allow your child admission to our Boo Tunnel, a hay ride, trebuchet game and a temporary tattoo. Popcorn and cider will be available for additional fees. Parking is $2 for Ingham County residents and $4 for non-residents. Wagon rental is available.

Potter Park Zoo is located at 1301 S. Pennsylvania Ave. within Potter Park along the Red Cedar River in Lansing, Michigan. The zoo is open daily year-round, summer hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call (517) 483-4222 or visit www.potterparkzoo.org

To view Potter Park Zoo's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to:  http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-588-Potter_Park_Zoo