Dickerson Park Zoo hosted its fourth annual Dreamnight at the Zoo tonight. This event is an opportunity for children with disabilities or chronic illnesses and their families to have a special night to themselves to enjoy the zoo.
Activities included watching the hippopotamus devour watermelons, feeding "browse" (leaves) to the giraffes -- like Marigold is doing in the picture to the left -- up-close encounters with animals from the education department, snacks and a photo of the VIP child to take home.
Nearly 1,600 people came to Dickerson Park Zoo tonight for this special evening. The zoo partners with area service providers and organizations who qualify the families and distribute the tickets. It rained much of the day and a few dark clouds still loomed in the sky, but not a drop of rain fell during Dreamnight.
Although this is an evening entirely focused on the VIP children and their families, for zoo staff and volunteers, it is an extremely heart-warming experience to interact with everyone. THANK YOU to everyone who attended Dreamnight and made this such a special night. And, a huge THANK YOU to our partner organizations who helped connect the zoo with the VIP families. We couldn't have done this without you.
Dreamnight started in the mid-1990s in The Netherlands. It quickly grew in popularity. Now more than 100 zoos, aquariums and other facilities in 30-plus countries around the world host Dreamnight (typically on the first Friday evening of June).
