Support Frog Conservation With a Night at the Zoo!

You may have heard ads on the radio or received an email about Wine and Design: Paint for Conservation, but here’s a little more insight into why we’re having this event.

Last year we hosted Cheers to 50 Years, an event celebrating our 50th anniversary. Attendees raised a glass to our milestone with wine and beer samples from 8 local producers. The Genetti generously sponsored the event and provided fantastic food for all 300 guests. The zoo was lit by torches and lanterns, live music filled the air, and zoo keepers strolled around with animals. We even fed our gators and komodo dragons for everyone! It was the first time we threw an event like that, and we received such positive feedback afterwards, we knew we had to do it again (in some capacity).

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Without a big anniversary to celebrate, we weren’t sure what to do. Sure, we could throw a big party and invite everyone, but we wanted it to be something more than that; we wanted it to have a purpose. Knowing how popular Wine and Design has become, we wanted to incorporate that with a night at the zoo, but in a way that made sense. Then through a few team brainstorming sessions, we had an “AHA!” moment. We could invite Wine and Design Williamsport to come and teach guests how to paint a tropical scene with exotic frogs, then donate a portion of ticket sales to amphibian conservation! Thus, Wine and Design: Paint for Conservation was born.

Few people realize, but the global amphibian crisis is serious: nearly 1/3 of the world’s amphibian species are known to be threatened or extinct, as many as 159 species may already be extinct, and at least 42% of all amphibian species are declining in population. For these reasons (and other alarming facts not listed), we are donating funds to the Amphibian Taxon Advisory Group (ATAG) to support amphibian conservation. Every little bit helps, and we’re anxious to contribute to this cause, above and beyond our existing conservation efforts.

That’s the backstory. Now for a bit more on the event itself…

As excited as we are to have partnered with Wine and Design, the truth is, you don’t need to paint to enjoy the event (or help frogs). We realize that not everyone is the painting kind, so we’re selling non-painting tickets at a lesser rate for those that just want to enjoy a great night out at the zoo!

The Genetti is providing refreshments and selling wine. Blue River Spell will be playing a little bit of everything (they take requests, too!). We’ll have all the zoo exhibits open*, animal encounters and feedings throughout the evening, and zoo grounds lit up with torches–a perfect summer night!

Another special part of the event comes from one of our very own volunteers, Austin Orelli. Austin helps out at the zoo every Wednesday, and he’s a great worker. Lucky for us, he’s also the talented artist behind The Wildlife of Autism! He will be here selling his animal-inspired artwork and will donate a portion of the proceeds to the ATAG as well. We’re so grateful for his involvement, and we know everyone will enjoy his art!

We invite EVERYONE to come support frog conservation with a night at the zoo! Tickets are on sale now- click here for more information or call 570.538.1869.

Note: Even if you can’t make it to the event, we’d appreciate if you’d share this with your friends and family–the more attendees, the more funds (and awareness) raised for amphibians!

*Our butterfly greenhouse will be open from 7:00-8:00 pm during the event.