John Ball Zoo, WGVU co-host Saturday Night Alive
As fundraising galas go, Saturday Night Alive offers music, food and drinks. Yet there is something very different about this event. On Saturday, August 15, from 7 to 10 p.m., adults will rule the zoo. They will have their turn to pet stingrays and enjoy the animals, and they’ll be able to do it listening to live music, sipping a cocktail, and munching on delicious appetizers from area restaurants. To the guest, Saturday Night Alive will be fun, hilarious and sometimes even eye-opening. To the John Ball Zoo and WGVU, the co-host of Saturday Night Alive, the event will be a valuable fundraiser that will support future children’s programs both on-air and at the zoo.
Also special about this event is the out-of-the-ordinary adult zoo tours. The favorite, “Odd & Unusual Animal Mating Behaviors,” will be offered a few times during the event. Expert “Kiss-n-Tell” Kristi Mumbrue will escort guests through the aquarium and Treasure of Tropics building, highlighting some of the extraordinary and remarkable “romantic tactics” of the animals. Also on hand for one-of-a-kind zoo tours will be Mountain Marv (Legends & Myths) and No-No Nancy (Scoop on Poop and Other Gross Facts About Animals).
Two music stages will feature the Evidence Jazz Group and Brian VanderArk (formerly of Verve Pipe). There will be appetizers from 10 area restaurants, including Indulgence, Jimmy’s Ribs, Las Vegas Cheesecake, On the Boarder and Shiraz Grille, to name a few. A cash bar will also be provided.
Saturday Night Alive is a ticketed, private event. Tickets are only $25 ($20 for Zoo and WGVU members), and are available by logging on to www.wgvu.org or by calling 1-800-442-2771. The event takes place at John Ball Zoo, 1300 W. Fulton, one mile west of downtown Grand Rapids. You must be 21 or older to attend.
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