Santa Barbara: Family-friendly Halloween fun with Boo at the Zoo

You might hear howls and growls among the boos and hisses, but Santa Barbara Zoo’s Halloween event promises to be more merry than scary. Boo at the Zoo, Oct. 23-25, is designed for adult-accompanied children, ages 2 to 12, and this year the theme is “Wild Wild West.”

Cowboys and cowgirls —as well as pirates, princesses, fairies, trolls and mermaids — will be among the more than 75 characters running rampant during the festivities, which will happen from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. each day. Mother Goose will be on hand to tell stories. Attractions will include a haunted mine and a nighttime train ride. And mazes and games and candy and prizes will all be part of the fun.

Of course, the setting itself offers its own attractions. There will be opportunities for animal encounters, and zookeepers will be giving talks. At the California Trails exhibit, which opened this year, attendees can see endangered or threatened animals, including four rare California condors.

This is a kid-centric event, and costumes are most definitely encouraged. Note, however, that anyone over age 12 will not be permitted into the zoo if wearing masks or painted faces; the organization cites general visitor safety for this precaution.

Cost: $11 per adult, $9 per child (2 to 12 years old). Santa Barbara Zoo members receive a $1 discount.

Contact: Santa Barbara Zoo

— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Video: Boo at the Zoo 2009 TV commercial. Credit: You Tube

Photo: Someone’s ready to giddyap to Boo at the Zoo. Credit: Santa Barbara Zoo

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 2:25 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under California, Fall, Family & Kids, Festival, Santa Barbara, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.