The next day is, inevitably, one of my least favorite days of the year, as it seems that the entire grounds of the zoo are covered with a fine coating of candy wrappers, trampled into the dirt by thousands of little sneaker-clad feet.
As I was scrapping the 867th trodden Tootsie Roll off of the pavement the other day, it occurred to me. There is a depressing lack of animal-themed costume out there. Looking back on my childhood, I don't think I went trick or treating as an animal once (well, not knowingly - I have seen pictures of my 3 year old self in a zebra costume, which I think is still hanging up somewhere in my parent's house). I stopped trick or treating at a fairly early age, but many of my coworkers, at my zoo and around the country, still like to dress up as animals for Halloween. Some get very detailed and very creative.
It would be neat to start trying to make this more of a thing by hosting animal-themed costume contests at our zoo. We could judge them not only on their skill, but also their creativity. Imagine someone showing up in a yellow sleeping bag, disguised as a banana slug? Wearing a football helmet with horns attached as a bighorn sheep? A bird of paradise costume, complete with the dance routine?
To keep the theme interesting, the prize should be animal related. A photo-op with the animal you were impersonating? A behind-the-scenes tour? An adoption certificate?
There are tons of trick or treating venues out there to compete with for kids. Perhaps it would makes ours stand out a bit more if we took the opportunity to emphasize what makes this one unique - animals.
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