The Niabi Zoo Foundation is ready to kick off its first-ever Zoopocalypse 5K designed to help raise funds to bring a grizzly bear exhibit to the animal preserve near Coal Valley.
The family-friendly 5K Fun Run is scheduled from 6-8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 28. If you don’t plan to be a runner/walker/screamer, the foundation also is seeking costumed “Zoobie Zombie” volunteers who will be staged in the zoo to make the event a nighttime success.
For more information or to sponsor or sign up to race visit www.niabizoofoundation.com. Or contact Joshua Sherrod at (309) 236-9573 or djsherrod1@yahoo.com.
The new family fun run also is going on the same weekend as Niabi Zoo’s annual Boo at the Zoo. Those “Merry not Scary Halloween Festivities” will again include local businesses providing free treats for Niabi Zoo guests.
Boo at the Zoo activity hours are Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 28-29, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Zoo admission hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Final entries are capped at 4 p.m., Sunday, which also is the last day of the 2023 season for Niabi, a member of the Zoological Association of America (ZAA).
The zoo is urging its final weekend visitors to “wear your costumes, bring a smile, and enjoy the many annual Boo at the Zoo activities.”
