Volume 1, No. 23. December 14, 2001
Holiday Special
Photo of lights hooping over walkways at the Bronx Zoo. Photo courtesy of the Wildlife Conservation Society
Light hearted
Their Holiday Lights festival had been a tradition going back five years, yet
officials at the Bronx Zoo in New York City engaged in heart-wrenching debate
about the appropriateness of staging it this year. Would it be too festive,
given the community's tragic autumn?
Linda Corcoran, assistant director of communications for the Wildlife Conservation
Society, headquartered at the Bronx Zoo, was in those discussions. Though she
understood the trepidation, she sided with the prevailing proponents of stringing
the lights. "Many of us who have children felt this is a venue we would want
to take our children to and not have them glued to the TV, newspapers and magazines.
Children shouldn't lose this tradition."
Much of New York apparently is like-minded. On Holiday Lights' opening night
November 23, which the zoo offered for free in honor of the World Trade Center
victims, 13,043 people showed up. Then, at a ticket price of $9 for adults and
$5 for seniors and children (free for WCS members), the numbers for the Thursday-through-Sunday
evening festival grew, topping 16,000 the following Saturday. Through this weekend
attendance totalled almost 54,000.
Corcoran credits the summer-like weather as a primary contributor, but she also
sees New York families doing their utmost to grasp hold of the holiday spirit.
The city decorated as usual, and other annual Yuletide season events went forward
as scheduled. "There are a lot of major campaigns to encourage people to get
out," Corcoran said. "It's like we've lost a loved one, and certainly we have,
lost over 3,000 people. I don't think there is a person in this area who didn't
know some people killed in World Trade (including family of Bronx Zoo staff),
and there will always be that feeling of sorrow. New Yorkers want desperately
to get through this."
Proving valuable salves for the New Yorkers' souls are hoops of lights arching
over the walkway to the zoo's new Dancing Crane Cafe, an enlarged Holiday Express
train ride for children, 10 miles of tree lighting, Alice Farley Dance Theater
stilt walkers, Paul Magnaldi ice carving, nightly sea lion feedings, the camels
and reindeer on special exhibit and many of the indoor animal exhibits remaining
open for the evening.
This weekend Holiday Lights goes to a nightly schedule through Janauary 1, except
December 24 when the reindeer must be pulled off exhibit for another job, Corcoran
said.