Twilight Recap

As you know, I attended the annual Twilight at the Zoo event last Friday evening to benefit the Cleveland Zoological Society. It was our third year in a row attending, and it didn't disappoint once again. It really has become one of my favorite events of the year, and "R" and I purchase our tickets when they go on sale in May. Which is very crafty of us because they are offered at a discounted rate. Since we are also members of the zoo, we received an additional $5 off each ticket purchase this year. So we walked away spending only $60 a ticket instead of the usual $75 general admission price. If you are planning on going next year, which you should, then keep an eye out for when tickets go on sale in May!

This year's event was very similar (why fix something that isn't broken!), but I did notice two things. Finding a wine station upon entering the main gate proved to be difficult. We hiked past two beer tents and wound our way to the back side of the Australian Outback section before we found our first wine stand. It was a lot of work for that first drink! Clearly we should have headed in the opposite direction, but for the past two years a wine station has been located just up and over to the left by the koala bears. We thought that we knew where we were going. It's just a minor complaint, but it didn't start my night off as well as the experience had in the past. Secondly, attendance seemed to be down slightly this year. It could have been traffic flow or another number of issues, but we weren't the only ones who commented that it felt that way so I have to wonder. If attendance was down, I hope that it picks back up next year because this event is fantastic!

One new discovery (due to the initial wine hunt) was a grilled foods buffet over by the petting zoo area. Burgers, hot dogs, baked beans, and veggie trays were a nice change from the all-fried foods we feasted on later.

Again, a highlight of the event was wandering around the grounds and seeing the different animals. We had the chance to pet two armadillos (Ken, and then Monty pictured above) and a hedgehog named Thistle. I love learning the names of the zoo's animals! The bands did not disappoint once again, and as the night wore on I started to dance a little more freely.

Here's a tip for wine drinkers attending the event: Grab an empty beer cup (they are larger) and pour your wine into the cup. The wine cups are so small and thin that they spill easily when you are walking around. Go for the larger, sturdier cup.

All in all, a great event. Saw new friends and old, stuffed my belly, enjoyed wine, danced to a variety of tunes, and left knowing a few more of the animals' names. We'll be back to visit soon!

View some pictures, courtesy of MetroMix.