Not-So Spooky

Spring and summer are the most popular seasons to visit the zoo, though fall has admittedly always been my favorite time to come.  Especially October.  The temperature is ideal, the animals more active, and the crowds more manageable, especially during the weekdays.  One minor quibble I often have about visiting a zoo in the fall, however, is Halloween.  For many zoos, Halloween is one of the busiest holidays - not the day itself, per se, but often the weekends around it, which are filled with trick-or-treating and other events.  Many zoos go all-out in their holiday décor.  And, I admit, sometimes I find it a little irksome to be exploring a zoo for the first time and finding every square foot crammed with scarecrows and pumpkins. It can be somewhat distracting, even a little ugly and overmuch.  

All of this is very minor, and I understand that zoos need to raise money and community support, and some family-friendly seasonal fun is a great way to do it.  I just get frustrated when it takes away from my ability to fully enjoy the zoo.  For example, sometimes areas of the zoo will be closed off to accommodate preparation for the Halloween events, such as a trick or treating loop.  Or I can't see certain exhibits because the front of it is crowded with kids, not there to see the animal, but to play a game which is inconveniently stationed there.  

None of that, of course, touches my main source of holiday irritation - the endless repeating music.  The thing is, there are only about 5 Halloween songs out there, which means that by mid-October I became way, way too familiar with the lyrics to Monster Mash.

Zoos can and should do what they need to do bolster their profile the community.  Ideally, though, it can be done without interfering with folks who are there for the primary business of the zoo - admiring and appreciating the wildlife that calls the zoo home.