THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 3, 1994 TAG: 9412030230
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
At first glance, the Virginia Zoo at night is like a quiet amusement park.
Dozens of moving, blinking light displays shaped like animals and holiday icons dot the park at every turn, inviting visitors to take a walk on the wild side.
``Wildlights,'' which opened Nov. 22, is the zoo's nighttime holiday festival, which will be on display until New Year's Day.
Everything from pink flamingos to kissing fish to a family of elephants are included in the half-mile walk. Lights strung throughout a cluster of trees look like miniature bright apples, and ducks have been joined in the lake by their electric counterparts.
Zoo development director Glenda Nelson said more than 100,000 people are expected to tour the displays.
``I have no idea how much money we're going to make,'' she said, adding that all proceeds will go to the zoo.
On one cold December night, a red dinosaur with stomping feet and a swaying head caught the attention of 5-year-old Noah Thomas of Norfolk.
``I like the dinosaurs . . . the raptors the most,'' Thomas said.
His mother, Christy, said they were not in the park for long before Noah wanted to see the dinosaurs.
``He's really anxious,'' she said as Noah tugged her arm. ``So far we really like the displays.''
Not surprisingly, she said the Noah's Ark display - with its colorful giraffes, parrots and cockatoos - was one of their favorites.
In the darkness, the zoo takes on a new personality. Most of the animals are not on display at night, Nelson said, but she hopes ``Wildlights'' also will attract more people to the zoo during the day.
In addition to the displays, the festival offers hot food and live entertainment from singers,dancers and bands from Hampton Roads. Friday night was WCMS radio night, which included the ``Cruising Coyotes'' and ``Lion'' Dancing for children and families. Tonight Young Audiences of Virginia will perform ``It's Holiday Time'' at 5:30.
Nelson said a main attraction is Santa Claus' headquarters, in one of the zoo's barns. It's not your typical Santa display. Instead of reindeer and snow, Santa is surrounded by donkeys, hay and a pig with a huge grin on its face.
After asking Santa for a doll house and a Barbie doll, Lauren Wohner, 3, continued her tour of the lights.
``It's pretty,'' Lauren said.
Lauren's grandmother, Eva Wohner of Virginia Beach, said many parents in the dance class she teaches have been talking about ``Wildlights.''
``I'm just floored,'' Eva Wohner said. ``It's a beautiful display.''
The lights have been leased from the Brandano Light Company of New York, which has designed displays at other zoos across the country. Nelson said they will continue to retool ``Wildlights'' by adding even more lights and rearranging some of the displays.
``It's time to get the kinks out,'' Nelson said. ``By the time we fine-tune, it's going to be fantastic. We're going to tell (people) the `Wildlights' just got wilder.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo by] MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/Staff
Fireman apprentice Sam Greenfield of Brooklyn, from Norfolk Naval
Air Station, adjusts lights on a dinosaur at the zoo.
`WILDLIGHTS' AT THE ZOO
Admission 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
Glenda Nelson at 624-9937. The Virginia Zoological Park is at 3500
Granby Street in Norfolk.
by CNB