Published: July 11, 2009 05:34 pm      

This year’s Zoobilee attendees will take a walk on the wild side

Each year, Gainesville citizens don their best fashion attire for a wild night to help raise funds for the Frank Buck Zoo.

Typically held in the Gainesville Civic Center, the event is the Frank Buck Zoological Society’s biggest annual fund raiser.

“Funds raised at this event go to build exhibits, purchase animals, support education programs and more,” said Frank Buck Zoo Director Susan Kleven in an e-mail to the Gainesville Daily Register. “Without the annual Zoobilee, the zoo would have no new exhibits and would be limited to only displaying animals that were donated.”

While the event is still a few months away, set for Sept. 19, Nancy Moore, president of the Frank Buck Zoological Society board of directors, said this year’s Zoobilee will be much different than ones in the past.

For starters, Moore said, the event will actually be held outdoors, in the zoo.

“I’ve been pushing for this for a long time, but I think it’s especially a great time to hold the Zoobilee at the zoo due to the current construction going on at the Civic Center,” she said. “Plus, the zoo is just a great spot.”

Typically a black tie affair, Moore said the Zoological Society Board is also considering lowering ticket sales for this year’s event.

“We kind of felt like, because of the economy, we need to cut our prices back somewhat,” said Moore. “We want more people to come. Usually we’re very elaborate, very full blown, but this year will be more casual.”

While no plans have been finalized yet, Moore said the board is also considering hiring a cover band and safari drum ensemble to provide live entertainment.

As far as food goes, Moore said the board would like to offer a taste of Gainesville with local restaurants providing small portioned-meals and snacks for attendees to enjoy.

Besides the entertainment value, another benefit to holding the event at the zoo is to showcase the zoo and its inhabitants.

“The zoo takes on a whole different, magical feeling of an evening,” said Kleven. “The Zoo Society has always done an amazing job decorating the Civic Center, creating a total immersion experience each year.

This year, however, guests will be surrounded by the very living things they are supporting by attending the fund raiser. There are some people that support the zoo and its mission that have not actually been on zoo grounds for several years. I think that they will be very pleasantly surprised at what the zoo has become to the community.”

This year’s theme is “To Do at the Zoo” to help convey the idea that the Zoobilee has gone in a whole new direction this year, said Kleven. Proceeds from the Zoobilee will go towards the current bear exhibit project. Currently the zoo houses two East Texas Black Bears named Nola and Brighton.

Sanctioned at the zoo since June 2001, the bears currently reside in a 400 square feet exhibit which is much too small for them to peacefully co-exist during ‘spring fever.’

Since 2007, Zoological Society board members have been working on raising funds for a new bear exhibit.

In March of this year, board members met with Mesa principal architect Mark Robertson who presented designs and concepts for a future bear exhibit. The plans shown were for a 4,000-6,000 square foot exhibit which would include amenities such as dig pits, climbing walls, a natural water substrate and a more natural viewing area for guests.

However the estimated cost for the plans would be between $600,000 to $700,000, which is why fund raising events like the Zoobilee are so vital to the Zoological Society.

“It’s sad because the bears are closed up in that small area and you can only see one at a time,” said Moore. “You know all of us on the board are all volunteers and we’re going at the fastest pace we can to make this possible, but we need as much help as we can get which is why the Zoobilee is so important.”

To learn more about the upcoming Zoobilee, be sure to look in the Gainesville Daily Register and visit Frank Buck Zoo’s official website at www.frankbuckzoo.com.