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Here's how it worked.
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That's how you spell it, right?
Yeah.
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And also you'll be in the running for the tickets, the club level tickets to see Green Bay
and Minnesota, and Green Bay, and that's coming up in November sometime, I think around
Thanksgiving.
So again, you got the jewelry, the $200, the Daily Prize, you got the Green Bay
Minnesota tickets, the club level seats, we're all playing for those today.
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keyword this hour, we'll keep her money, you're throughout the hour.
We only have until eight o'clock to do it, and then it's all over for the morning
ship.
All right, let's say good morning to Beth Heidor, an executive director of the Racine Zoo.
Halloween is at the zoo already.
Yeah, we've got lots of stuff going on.
When I fill up at the gas station right across the street, I see that big pumpkin you got
in the...
Kids must love walking through that pumpkin.
Yep, we are setting everything up for Jack-a-lantern nights.
We've got a lot of...
Today we'll finish setting up.
We'll probably take another five or six days.
It's just...
It's got a big space that we have to decorate.
So pretty excited about this.
It's going to be very, very fun.
We open on the second of October, and we go through the 31st.
We're open Thursdays through Sundays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., last entry is at 9.30.
We'll probably have our guesses about 23,000 people, 23,000, maybe 24,000 people go through
Jack-a-lantern nights.
It's a Rainer Shine.
It is Rainer Shine.
Yeah.
Now, you don't dress up the animals, and...
We do not.
We've got a lot of pumpkin display vignettes that we're working with a new company.
Well, those people that dress up their dogs.
Oh, well, some of them are so cute, though.
You think they like it, though?
If you look at their faces, it's like...
Now, we used to dress up our dog for the parade when we used to be in the parade here,
and...
Same Patrick's Day, Christmas parade, and also the Fourth of July we gave him a hat
to wear, like a, you know, Fourth of July hat, that he had the thing with the stars coming
out of his head.
He was good about it.
You know, he put it...
And you can see in his face, please don't make me wear this, don't make me please.
Okay.
So, you say you have a new company doing it this year, huh?
Yeah, we're partnering with a new company.
We're still working with transitions.
Traditions, excuse me, for the lighting part, but all the pumpkins came from another place
this year.
So, it's going to be fun.
We're very excited about it.
It's a little vignette throughout the whole walking path.
I love that Chinese lights thing you did.
Oh, that's what that was 19.
That was good.
Yeah.
I saw another zoo was doing that, but you did it first.
There are multiple zoos across the country that do that, but you guys did it first.
Well, you guys...
We were one of the first.
You guys put it together first, and that was some, you know, when I walked through there
during the Chinese lights, I'm trying to figure, we're all wires for this thing.
There must be somewhere, because I don't see them.
And the lights were spectacular.
I still have all the pictures on my phone.
We took a ton of pictures.
Even the big pagodas, the buildings and everything, all lit up with those lights.
How am I?
I did it.
It was a labor of love, man.
It was a great time.
Now you let a company do what you didn't do.
That's correct.
Yeah, they had to be experts and then lay all those wires down.
I wanted to see those circuit breakers.
The first time it turned it on.
Pop, pop, pop, pop.
Oh, actually, it was all good.
Really?
All the lights.
We worked with a lot of great power.
Boom.
Electric help.
Just get it all done.
All right.
So let's talk about.
It's called Octobare, B-E-A-R, fast, and it starts Friday the 26th, 6 to 9 o'clock.
Now what is Octobare fast?
Well, think about Octobare fast, but we always have to have an animal twist to it.
That's why there's a bear in it, Octobare fast.
So it is beer tasting.
We'll be up by our pavilion area.
There's a bunch of German beers.
In fact, all of the beers are German beers this year.
They'll be the Steinholding contest that people can participate in.
We've got some wonderful food from Red Onion.
We'll be doing the food this year for that.
Yeah.
So that's always included.
Food's always included in our events.
And it's just going to be super fun at 6 to 9.
You're hanging out, drinking German beer, listening to a polka band.
So it's just a super fun way to kick it off for our fall.
But a lot of people have Octobare fasts, events throughout the year.
And nobody's got an Octobare fast except us, exactly.
So it's this Friday, tickets will go on sale or go off sale tomorrow at 5.
So if you want to go, get your tickets now.
Octobare fast.
You know, I always felt funny when you eat at the zoo, especially if you're eating, you
know, meters.
I know.
I know.
It's just me.
I just always felt bad about it, not bad enough where I didn't eat, but just bad enough.
But yeah, the zoo is Octobare fast and that's this Friday from 6 to 9 and he get the tickets.
You go on to our website at recensu.org, go to the tab on top that says events, do the
drop down, click on the events you're talking about and then you'll find the ticket sales
right there.
Okay, but the big big, well, that's big, but the big promotion for Octobare is Jack
Old Lantern Knights.
And this is not only for the kids, adults love it too.
Perfect.
Absolutely.
Great back childhood memories.
Yeah, it's our nighttime event.
It's from 6 to 10 Thursday through Sundays.
Last admission is at 9 30 and so you can come to the zoo during the day, but we kick you
out and then you come back.
You can come back again at 6 and it's, you know, it's about a, you know, half a mile
to three quarters of a mile walk through all the vignettes and it's really super fun.
We close and then we open a night event, two separate times coming into the zoo.
So it's really super fun.
I love the vignettes this year.
We've got a carnival, we've got Princess Castle, we've got a train.
It's just, it's just a very different way to look at the pumpkins.
We work with a different company this year.
Still our same lighting company traditions is, is helping us out and we're getting it
all set.
It's always spookier at night.
I don't know why.
We don't really do, we don't do spooky spooky.
We do family fun.
Yeah.
I don't need to do, I don't like spooky.
I get spooked by pumpkins.
You know, we used to, when I was a kid under the lights, we had a street light right in
front of our houses and around Halloween, we always brought out the scary stories, the
frightening stories and so I was to remember that, you know, that's kind of what Halloween
is.
Yeah, I know.
We're more scared.
We like to be more family fun.
Quick story.
We had this house.
It was on the block in back of us and there was a hand in front of the window all day
long and there was a old woman's hand and we were frightened by it.
Have you had the story?
No.
No, we were frightened by it and we, we were looking and I said, oh, she's dead, she's
in the window.
So I'm telling my father, my father said, it's not an old woman's hand, she's not dead
in the window.
My father said, get in the car.
We went out of there.
We pulled him in front of the house.
He had to walk through somebody's backyard.
He dragged me there.
He said, it's a flower in a vase, but it looked like an old woman's hand and I went
back and told the kids and they said, no, told woman's hand.
It was right around Halloween.
No, it's a warm tent.
It's frightening.
I said, no, my father showed me.
It's a flower in a vase.
He went, he went schlepping through somebody's backyard.
Oh, man.
That is crazy.
Beth Hyder, an executive director of the Racine Zoo is with us.
So many events going on in October, you know, a lot of people slow down when the summer's
over.
You seems like you guys pick up steam.
We love fall.
We love fall.
We love fall at the zoo.
For sure.
You know what it is?
You can't slow down the zoo.
There are animals there.
That's right.
I got a fetem.
They don't slow down the fall.
They need medical care.
They need food.
They need to see people walking around.
I was telling Beth that my Arctic foxes weren't white when I went through there.
They were brown.
I looked at them.
I said, oh, no.
I expect this.
I don't know why.
I expect you white.
I know it's a winter color for them.
Right.
And then they'll be, they'll change back to white.
They don't shed the fur.
It just changes.
Yeah.
They shed.
They still shed.
But they, but they will.
It just changes color.
They're here.
Think about it.
You got a little gray going on.
I know.
And you got a little black.
So it's the same thing.
This is the first gray coming in.
Whoa.
I nervous about that.
It looks very stylish.
No, it doesn't.
Yes, it does.
I look like an old coup.
Okay.
Okay.
So, okay.
Our next event is old-fashioned cocktail night.
This is coming also in October.
The beginning of October.
Yeah.
It's always the first Saturday of October.
It's October 4th.
It's from six to nine.
And it's just our way to celebrate the Wisconsin's classic cocktail of an old-fashioned.
And this is a competition.
This is one of our competition events.
So we have a variety of bars or restaurants that sign up to make the best old-fashioned cocktail.
So the guests get to taste each of the cocktails.
And then the guests will vote.
We also have judges that will also vote.
And then we vote on the best garnishes as well.
So it's a nice little healthy competition between the different places right now.
We've got Bucket's pub second round.
Is a competitor, bourbon chronicles, waterfront warehouse, red maple, MKE,
taste of soul, two six two, chart room restaurant.
We just added butcher and barrel yesterday.
And then we've got a couple of other pending competitors.
So we'll see what's going on with them.
She got my daughter.
I thought it was a bartender at one time.
She can.
You can come and make a cocktail, but you're going to be serving between 250 and 300 drinks in that time frame.
So you've got to be able to have a partner with you so that you can crank and bank these because our guests will.
And we can go as high as 350.
So we'll see what.
Well, she also lives in Florida.
So it's going to tell.
She can always fly up to see her dad and then come over and be.
Emails.
Right.
Just never know.
Yeah, email the drinks.
But it's going to be super fun.
We do this every year for the last, I think, five years.
And the age limit is.
You've got to be 21 and older.
Okay.
21 and older.
I remember as any a girl once, and so I lived in New York, and I was 20 years old in the Manhattan.
Some of these clubs, 25 and older.
Oh, I didn't know.
And she was 26 with her friends for 30.
And I said, please don't cart me.
Please don't cart me.
I don't want to be embarrassed.
And they never did.
I didn't drink, but I just went in.
But.
So please don't.
There's going to be embarrassing.
And they didn't for some reason.
Well, that's good.
You got in.
But with the zoo coming up, this is the big trick or treat event.
Yeah, that is on Saturday, October 25th.
It is a company or it's a campus wide.
So they'll be cookie decorating.
There's pumpkin decorating.
We'll have bounce houses for the kids.
We have our knock knock doors where we have six of those that will be set up throughout the zoo.
And what kids can knock on the door and a friendly volunteer hands them candy.
And then we also have a variety of business boosts that come out to hand out candy or pencils or whatever it is they want to.
It's like a trunk or treat.
And we usually have around 30 to 35 other businesses that come out also to hand out candy to all the kids and talk to the parents and all of that kind of stuff.
So it's a really great way to trick or treat safely during the day.
It's from when we open at 10.
We close it for last admission.
Is that 330?
And it's our last really big family function where we'll probably have pending upon the temperature between three and 4,000 people on property that day.
In that time.
Oh, yeah, it is.
It is crazy busy for boo with the zoo.
It's just a fun family event.
A lot of multi generational groups come out.
And then we have a grill going on in our grill.
And then we have a pop up grill.
Over by our train station.
And then people can see the displays for jackal internites during the day.
Of course, because we don't take those down every day and put them back up.
So it works out really great.
I just I love boo with the zoo.
It's just the decorations.
The costumes that the families wear.
And then usually they get all together and everyone in the family is a theme of what that family is.
And they're super, super cute.
So come on out.
Boo with the zoo is a big tried and true event here at the zoo.
And that is the 25th.
It's always a Saturday.
Little Explorer is preschool classes.
What do you mean?
I never heard of these.
Yeah, those are our preschool classes for age.
They're two and three year olds with kids and their favorite adults.
Sometimes it is a grandparent.
Sometimes it is the parent.
It really kind of depends on.
It could be the nanny.
It's just a variety of different people that come out.
But it's a fun event for the kids.
You sign up and you can come for an hour and a half.
For two to five year olds and their caregivers.
So there are different this year.
We've got you can sign up for all four of the fall events or you could sign up for just a couple or just one of them.
You get crafts.
You get story time.
You get to see an animal.
It's just a really good time for kids that young to start to learn to become stewards of the planet.
And to learn about animals and get connected to wildlife and wild places.
So it's just a way to start early and you start them at age two.
Wow.
Quick review.
We've got the October Bear Fest like October Fest.
But only the Racine Zoo has October Bear B-E-A-R Fest.
And that's coming up this Friday from six to nine.
Talkdale's German themed about this week.
The big event.
Jack O'Lanter nights.
This runs the month of October from October two through October 31.
And this is a big one now.
That's a big one.
Now this is a special nighttime event.
Yes.
So if you come at a two o'clock the afternoon, you got to get out when the zoo closes at like four o'clock.
And then it reopens again.
Yep.
And yeah, it's $10 for age three and older two and younger.
So always free at the zoo.
You buy your tickets right at the gate.
Go on in probably 23 to 24,000 people will be enjoying Jack O'Lanter nights this year.
Very excited about it.
It's different.
It's a variety of pumpkin vignettes throughout the zoo.
I guess it's the giant pumpkin of the door.
Yes, you do.
I see it when I pass by.
I know it's super fun.
Old-fashioned cocktail nights.
That's Saturday, October fourth from six till five and nine p.m.
Nine, yep.
And you get to vote on the cocktail.
Yeah, you get a taste of all the different cocktails from the competitors and then place your favorite vote.
And we've got judges that also vote.
So you've got the people's choice, the judges' choice and the best garnish.
And both the zoo, the trunk or treat.
That's trunk or treat.
That's a trunk or treat.
Yeah.
The business booth will be out there giving away candy and all types of goodies.
And that's October 25th.
And the little looks more as preschool classes and that runs one.
That runs in the month of September, October.
And then we have, we have every month.
You just need to check on which months work for you, which dates work for you.
Those are Sundays and Mondays.
And then different themes for each of the kids and then the crafts and the animals.
And everything is themed to what they're talking about that particular day.
Have the two into five-year-olds come with their favorite adult.
It works great.
Don, you sound like a marble salesman or the mouthful of samples.
Didn't understand what you said.
So how did they see this on the website?
You go to recenzoo.org.
And at the top, there's a bar and you can drop down for events or you can go to education
and get into the preschool classes.
See everything that we have going on, whether it's the animals or about us or you name it.
Just go to those and then just do the drop-downs.
Get your tickets ordered.
They go quick.
And if you missed any of our two chat, you can hear it again.
When we podcast the our chat tonight or tomorrow morning, it'll be on our podcast.
At wrjn.com or wherever you get your podcast.
It's always fun having you in here.
Thank you, Don.
Appreciate it.
You got to bring in an animal like the guy on Johnny Carson used to do from the San Diego Zoo.
Yeah.
Remember him?
Emory or something like that?
Joan Emory.
Joan Emory is a woman.
But there was also a guy who used to do it too.
And I forget.
And he used to bring in the animals and he used to nip it Johnny's ear when he put him on the shoulder.
And that was kind of fun.
Yeah.
Okay.
Thank you, Beth.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You got to get out there.
Not every city's got one.
But a lot of events coming up in October again.
Check it out at the zoo website.
Or just a tour podcast again.
We'll talk about it.
WRJN.com.