Jacksonville Zoo Raised Over $300,000 With Spooktacular Fundraising Halloween Festival

By Gina Stiles

Jacksonville, FL - This year’s Spooktacular fundraising Halloween Festival, was the most successful ever for the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. This year’s record-breaking event, which has become the biggest family-oriented Halloween party in Northeast Florida was attended by over 36,000 and raised more than $300,000. Pepsi Cola Bottling Company of Jacksonville was the title sponsor of this year’s event and has committed to the next four years as well.

“We were thrilled with the response to this year’s event,” said the Zoo’s Executive Director Tony Vecchio. “Our thanks go out to the many sponsors, over 1,400 volunteers and 250 employees. Without there support and participation, the seven wonderful evenings, which brought many people out to our beautiful Zoo and Gardens, would not have been possible.”

All the special guests (old and young alike) included celebrities, super heroes, princesses, ghosts and goblins were amazed by the magical lighting, music and special effects, delighted by the dancers who led them in dancing at Pumpkinville Plaza (Range of the Jaguar) and The Monster Mash Sock Hop (Play Park), and played on the bouncy houses and giant inflatable slide at Pumpkinville’s Fairground. They got up close and personal with some of the Zoo’s animals, took a ride on the Wildlife Carousel, enjoyed special themed food at the Zoo’s restaurants and took home a lot of candy and some great memories.

For over 90 years, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has been dedicated to inspiring the discovery and appreciation of wildlife through innovative experience in a caring environment. From the beginning in 1914, with an animal collection that consisted of only one red deer fawn, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has become one of the top zoos in the nation, now with more than 1,400 rare and exotic animals and over 1,000 unique plant species. The Zoo is a non-profit organization and an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. It is open year-round, seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located on Jacksonville’s north side at 370 Zoo Parkway, one-half mile east from I-95. The Zoo is open until 6 p.m. on weekends and holidays from March to Labor Day. For more information, go to jacksonvillezoo.org.

To view Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens' web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to:  http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-97-Jacksonville_Zoo_and_Gardens