Editor's Note: On Friday, June 25, 2010, we wrote about the recent Dreamnight at the Zoo, hosted by the Memphis Zoo.  We invited, Sandi Shoemaker, the chairperson for the Memphis Zoo's Dreamnight Committee, to write up a post about the event.

by Sandi Shoemaker
Dreamnight Committee Chairperson
Memphis Zoo

The Memphis Zoo is a wonderful place to have a party, but few events generate as much excitement in the staff as Dreamnight at the Zoo. The Memphis Zoo is proud to be one of over 200 zoos worldwide to host Dreamnight, an event in which zoos open their gates to children with catastrophic illness or disabilities to have a fun-filled, free night with their families.

This year we hosted 528 children and their families from Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Special Olympics. The Zoo staff love the dance parties and watching the children dancing with our mascots, Bamboo the Panda and Timber the Wolf. Everyone always enjoys all the fun activities like the King Cotton hot dog cookout, the games, the keeper chats, the chalk drawings and karaoke, but most of all, we LOVE hanging out with the children.

Although the weather was hot, the Nile River and the Old Faithful fountain were cool and talented children were busy catching magnetic fish in the reflecting pool, designing fantasy animals in the craft room, posing for family photos as well as learning what a gorilla eats and how zoo veterinarians examine a cranky lion (you can’t just ask him to say “awwwww”).
It means so much to all of us at the Zoo to be a part of families laughing and playing together for the past five years, and we could not host such an special event without the support of our sponsors King Cotton, Pepsi, Toof, Dingo Entertainment, and of course, the Memphis Zoo.

We are already looking forward to opening our gates for many more children with special medical needs and their families to enjoy and evening with our animals at the Zoo next June. 
If you’d like more information on Dreamnight, please visit the official website at www.dreamnightatthezoo.nl.