Friday, October 8, 2010

It Was a Wild Affair!

By Jaime Wilson, Zoo Blog Keeper

The first Saturday in October, the Zoo hosted its 15th Annual Wild Affair gala and fundraiser. The night was filled with elegant décor, delicious food, mouth-watering cocktails, high-energy bidding on auction items and behind-the-scenes animal tours led by our very own zoo keepers.

What was the best part? Spending the evening with our generous donors who have put us a step closer to SPLASH! The North American River Otter Habitat Renovation and Expansion project. We couldn’t do it without you!

And speaking of thank yous, we have so many more!

  • Dave Bender of CBS 13: Our enthusiastic host and talented auctioneer!

  • Patrick Mulvaney of Mulvaney’s B&L and Culinary Specialist: Chef and his team prepared a delicious Farm-to-Fork style dinner highlighting the best foods our region has to offer and some really delicious fruit infused cocktails.

  • Ed & Jessica Goldman: The ever talented father and daughter team who rewrote and recorded songs for “My Fair Otter”, a zoo-themed take off on “My Fair Lady”.

  • Steve Ayers (Honorary Event Chair) with Armour Steel & Iron Mechanical: The title sponsors of Wild Affair and partners in improving the Zoo!

  • US Bank, McGuire Hester, Wells Fargo: Generous sponsors that helped us put on a great event!

  • Village Nurseries: Who created a “River Runs Through It” entrance to our event tent with hundreds of beautiful flowers, plants and trees.

  • Tobey Oxholm from Drexel University: He sold raffle keys like a champ and gave our Development Director a run for her money!

  • Our dedicated volunteers: It’s beautiful because of you! From centerpieces to hanging butterflies, we can’t thank you enough.

  • The Zoo Staff: Not only did they dress up as animals for the “My Fair Otter” show, they made the costumes, choreographed the moves, led the tours and made it all happen in a way that makes it look effortless! They put on one heck of a party!

We hope to see you at next year’s Wild Affair on October 1, 2011!

Here is a slideshow of highlights!

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