On the lighter side, Joan,
Dec 13 1997The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden is spinning a sweet, Tchaikovsky-inspired fantasy treat into its 1997 PNC Bank Festival of Lights celebration, which debuts Saturday and continues through Jan. 4.
Inspired by an elephant Nutcracker from zoo marketing director Donna Oehler's personal collection, the festival's new theme is dramatically introduced at the zoo's entrance by a 30-foot-high tusked version that Ms. Oehler has fondly dubbed ''Jumbo.''
Similarly, the Cincinnati holiday tradition - which debuted in 1983 ''with a handful of volunteers and a box of lights,'' according to Ms. Oehler - has expanded into a megawatt spectacle boasting more than 2 million lights throughout the zoo's 50-acre exhibit area, and a support staff of 1800 volunteers.
(Thanks to PNC Bank's corporate sponsorship of the Festival of Lights, it has not been affected by the recent failure of the zoo levy.)
The ''Nutcracker'' motif has transformed both the entryway, which has been restrung with pastel lights and features ''meet-and-greet'' costumed characters Clara, the Rat King and the Sugar Plum Fairy from the classic ballet; and Swan Lake, which sparkles with new Nutcracker light sculptures, colorful new lighting, spires on the Enchanted Castle and fairies in the trees.
Nearby, on the Centroid Lawn, a brand-new giant Sugar Plum Fairy Music Box brings to life a ''Fantasia''-inspired scene in the form of four 16-foot dancing hippos in tutus.
''We reach back into our memories of fun events with our families (such as department-store Christmas windows and driving around to see light displays) and try to recreate it here... as a magical fantasy land,'' Ms. Oehler said.
The zoo's holiday soundtrack has been reworked around Tchaikovsky's magical score. Because of the ''Nutcracker'' connection, the zoo is cross-promoting its event with the Cincinnati Ballet, which presents its ''Nutcracker'' Dec. 18 through 28.
Before the Festival of Lights, the zoo averaged 4,000 visitors for the month of December. Now the attendance figure to the Festival of Lights alone is 225,000 people - in the evenings, when the zoo is normally closed.
The festival also produced the zoo's highest one-day attendance figure ever: 28,000 people the day after Thanksgiving 1994 (if you want to avoid large crowds, Thursday through Saturday are generally the busiest nights).
Bill |
