THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 17, 1994 TAG: 9411150155
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
It was a crisp fall day, and dozens of families were roaming through Norfolk's zoo.
Beside the elephants and birds, however, visitors saw other animals begin to rise. But these were not flesh and blood; they were made of steel and lights.
Visitors were witnessing the zoo's preparations for ``Wildlights,'' a 41-night holiday light show featuring displays of animals, trains, dinosaurs and Santa Claus. The show begins Tuesday and lasts through New Year's Eve.
Glenda Nelson, the Virginia Zoological Park's development director, said more than 100,000 visitors are expected to take the half-mile tour through the park.
``This place, as cool as (the weather) is, is going to be swamped,'' Nelson said. ``I think everybody loves the zoo.''
Nelson said families especially will enjoy the holiday caricatures and animated dinosaurs. Children can sit with Santa in the zoo's barn and have their pictures taken.
``Wildlights'' also will offer hot food and live entertainment from area groups. The lights have been leased from the Brandano Light Company of New York, which has designed displays at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens and at other zoos across the country.
Volunteers to help set up the displays come from area organizations and military groups, including: the USS Yellowstone, USS Resolute, USS Emory S. Land, the Coast Guard and Navy SEALs. Without their help, Nelson said, Wildlights might not have been possible.
``Those guys have been great,'' she said. ``They've been out in the rain and cold.''
As she spoke, a group of men from the Yellowstone was erecting the Noah's Ark display. Although the help has been great, Nelson said, the zoo still is looking for more volunteers to help throughout the season.
``I never realized what a big job this is,'' Nelson said. ``We have people calling and people who want to come out.''
Nelson said a light display of this size will attract people to the zoo during a low-attendance season. Because of the weather, animals will not be on display during the nighttime shows, but Nelson said she hopes visitors will be encouraged to stop by during the day.
The show kicks off what Nelson hopes will be a new era for the zoo. A tiger display scheduled to open in the spring and the upcoming African Savannah are highlights that will take the zoo and the city into the 21st century, she said.
Nelson said an annual fund-raiser such as this can help both the zoo attendance and area merchants.
``This is another way of getting attention,'' she said.
The admission charge for ``Wildlights'' is $3 per person, with children under 2 admitted free. The display will be open from 5:30 to 10 p.m., and until 12:30 a.m. on New Year's Eve. For more information, call Nelson at 624-9937. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY C. KNAPP
From left, John Staedt, Tom Romanowski and Michael Manroe erect one
of the many displays that will be part of ``Wildlights.''
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by CNB