While you’re out on the prowl, you may want to crank things up a notch, and check out Zoo Lights at the Denver Zoo, Dec. 12-Jan. 4, 5-9p.m. Zoo Lights sets the animal park ablaze with millions of sparkling lights, featuring glittering trees and animated animal light sculptures. Holiday entertainment by local schools and choir groups will add to the merriment.
Warming stations throughout the zoo will offer seasonal treats to warm you from the inside out, including funnel cakes, kettle corn, caramel apples, brownie bites, cotton candy, soft bread pretzels, roasted almonds, churros, cider, enough hot chocolate to quench an elephant’s thirst and for mature audiences, hot drinks with their favorite spirits!
Thaw your paws during Zoo Lights in one of Denver Zoo’s indoor exhibits. Visit elephants Mimi and Dolly in the pachyderm building, say “Happy Holidays” to baby giraffes Kang and Turbo in the giraffe house, or get nose to snout with one of Denver Zoo’s animal residents during a live animal demonstration in Tropical Discovery from 6-8p.m. nightly.
While not all the zoo animals are available for viewing during Zoo Lights, others you are liable to see include: rhinos, hippos, bighorn sheep, reindeer, bison, polar bears, sea lions, Bactrian camels, howler monkeys, snakes, fish, Komodo dragons and Arctic fox.
Admission is $8 for ages 12-64, $6 for adults over 65, $4 for children 3-11 and free for those 2 and under.
For those of you concerned about the environmental impact of such an impressive display, the folks at Denver Zoo want you to know that they have switched nearly 90 percent of their holiday lights to more environmentally friendly LED lights, and are purchasing renewable energy credits to offset the rest of the power used for Zoo Lights.
Denver Zoo will shine the holiday spotlight on Kwanzaa, Dec. 26-30, 5-9p.m. Gather with friends, family and the community to celebrate this rich cultural tradition that honors African American heritage through African dance, music, and education.
During the Kwanzaa celebration, your Zoo Lights admission will include craftmaking, as well as African storytelling (6p.m. & 8p.m.) and dancing (7p.m.) in the Conoco Pavilion.
As the hours tick down toward 2009, families can also experience the fun of Zoo Year’s Eve, Wed., Dec. 31, 5-9p.m. On the brink of a brand new year, children and their parents will be treated to a wild New Year’s Eve party with entertainment and activities that lead up to an early countdown to the New Year at 9p.m. It’s the perfect time for families to celebrate together without stretching the limit on bedtime! Don’t miss Juggling Jeff, Magic Rob and music by Dr. Noize.
Zoo Lights admission prices are: $8 for ages 12-64, $6 for ages 65 and over, and $4 for ages 3-11. Members save $2 per admission. For more information, call 303-376-4800 or visit www.denverzoo.org.
Holiday lighting fiends will miss one local favorite this year, as Denver Botanic Gardens has cancelled its annual Blossoms of Light display for 2008 due to construction of a 320-space parking garage on the site of its current surface parking lot immediately east of the Gardens, between Josephine St. and York St.
In place of Blossoms of Light, the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield (at C-470 and S. Wadsworth Blvd.), will present Trail of Lights, Wed.-Sun., 5-8:30p.m., through Jan. 4.
With the Colorado foothills as a backdrop, more than one million twinkling lights will illuminate a charming forest path. A children’s play area – including a treehouse – will be included in the fun. Tour a restored 1880s’ homestead that will be decorated in a charming Colorado country motif, and enjoy hot cocoa and other refreshments (small fee). HoloSpex 3D glasses which magnify the brightness of the displays will be sold for $1.
Admission to Trail of Lights will cost $9 for ages 16-64, $7 for ages 65 and over, and $6 for children ages 4-15. Members receive $2 off.
DBG spokesman Will Jones expects Trail of Lights to become an annual event, and says Blossoms of Light will return to its traditional York St. location in the main gardens in 2009.
For more information, visit www.botanicgardens.org or call 720-865-3500.
