The INDEPENDENT, December 2, 2004
Page 13
ZooLights offers spectacular displays
Buddy Bears needed in Wash. Co.
The Oregon Zoo will come
alive with lights when the 17th
annual ZooLights festival be-
gins on Friday, December 3 at
5:30 p.m.
This family tradition, pre-
sented by The Boeing Compa-
ny, will feature more than
500,000 lights illuminating life-
sized animal silhouettes, trees,
buildings, walkways, and the
zoo train.
“Every year, the zoo pres-
ents a stunning display of light
and color,” said Tony Vecchio,
zoo director. “I know many peo-
ple in our community eagerly
anticipate ZooLights and look
forward to seeing the many
new touches that we add each
year. It is so gratifying to know
that the Oregon Zoo has be-
come an important holiday tra-
dition to so many families,” he
added.
As visitors approach the zoo
entrance, they will be greeted
by swinging siamangs and div-
ing dolphins. A large, rotating
mobile featuring aquarium ani-
mals will dominate the zoo’s
entry plaza. Trillium Creek
Family Farm, the zoo’s newest
exhibit, will be home to three
new silhouettes: flying pigs, a
cow jumping over the moon
and Charlotte’s Web. Other dis-
plays in the farm include a
caterpillar that turns into a
chrysalis before emerging as a
beautiful butterfly, inchworms,
California condors, leaping
frogs and forest creatures.
Deeper inside the zoo, an
anaconda is re-created in lights
at the Amazon Flooded Forest
exhibit, and a gingerbread
house, complete with candy
cane fence, lights up the Cross-
roads. Three life-sized, three-
dimensional hippos will graze
near a river of lights on the
zoo’s concert lawn.
The zoo’s popular costumed
characters and elves will be on
hand to greet zoo visitors and
pose for pictures. Rudolph the
Red-nosed Reindeer will be
joined by Buddy Beaver, Honey
Bear, Eliza Elephant, Lulu
Lemur, Nate the Eagle, Rock E.
Goat, Sandy Sea Otter and Ti-
tus Tiger. Visitors can also see
some of the zoo’s resident ani-
mals, including mountain
goats, elephants, primates, and
pettable sheep and goats.
Music lovers will enjoy the
highly animated light silhouette
featuring Mick Jaguar perform-
ing on the concert stage with
Every day children in Wash-
ington County experience trau-
matic situations, whether it’s a
car crash, separation from a
parent, a domestic conflict or
some other serious situation. A
soft, cuddly new friend can be
very comforting at that time.
That’s where the Washing-
ton County Sheriff’s Office Bud-
dy Bear Program comes in.
The Buddy Bear Program has
been in existence for over 16
years. During that time thou-
sands of little children have
been comforted when a soft
teddy bear has been placed in
their arms.
The program relies com-
pletely on donations of the
bears from people who want to
help a child at a time when their
little world seems to have been
turned upside down and they
feel helpless and scared. Re-
cently a high school student
his all-star animal band. Mick is
joined by Packy Pachyderm
tickling the ivories, Richard
Lion playing guitar, Gerri Gi-
raffe on bass, Billy Bear on
trumpet, Orville Orangutan on
drums and Willy Wildebeest on
sax. The Ostrich Sisters per-
form backing vocals.
The sounds of the season
will fill the zoo as more than
100 schools, churches, and
professional groups perform
holiday musical selections.
Several local dance troupes
will also be featured.
Favorite light displays from
previous years will also return,
including trumpeting elephants,
tobogganing polar bears and
swinging monkeys.
Lions can be seen chasing a
herd of impalas, while a giraffe
grazes nearby. An ostrich gets
startled and runs away, hiding
its head in the sand. Flying
macaws fly from tree to tree. A
35-foot-long dragon mysteri-
ously floats above the walkway.
At Steller Cove, a sea lion and
dancing sea star greet visitors.
In addition to the lights, char-
acters and music, the Tualatin
Valley Model Railroad Club will
show off its enlarged NTRAK
train display. And children of all
ages are sure to enjoy family
entertainment every evening in
the zoo’s elephant museum, in-
cluding a conservation-themed
puppet show Thursday through
Sunday evenings.
The Artist Market will feature
recycled, animal and earth-
friendly art.
And, for last-minute shop-
pers, the zoo’s gift shop, Cas-
cade Outfitters, is bursting with
animal-related gifts. The zoo’s
Cascade Grill will offer a night-
ly holiday buffet. This tradition-
al feast will cost $13.95 for
adults and $7.75 for kids. Holi-
day treats will be available at
food locations throughout the
zoo.
Banks
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ZooLights runs from Decem-
ber 3 through January 1. Hours
are 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Sun-
day through Thursdays, and
5:00 to 8:30 p.m. on Fridays
and Saturdays.
Guests will have one hour
past the closing times to make
their way back to the front gate.
During this time, lights and oth-
er activities will continue until
gates close. The festival is
closed December 24 and 25.
ZooLights package tickets,
which include admission and a
train ride, are $9.50 (12-64),
seniors $8 (65+), children
$6.50 (3-11), and children un-
der 3 are free. Additional infor-
mation is available on the zoo’s
website at www.oregonzoo.org
or by calling 503-226-1561.
The zoo is located five min-
utes from downtown Portland,
just off Highway 26.
donated a teddy bear to the
program because she had
been given a Buddy Bear when
she was five years old.
Presently, the Buddy Bear
Program is running out of
bears. With the holidays com-
ing this would be an especially
hard time for a young child in
trauma, which is all the more
reason why being given a ted-
dy bear would mean so much.
If you would like to donate a
“new” teddy bear to the Buddy
Bear Program, contact Susan
Gould at 503-516-4397 or
email: sgouldbuddybears@aol.
com
Your donation will ensure
that a Washington County
Sheriff’s Deputy will be able to
provide a comforting bear
when a child experiences an
unfortunate tragedy, and help
in a way that a child can under-
stand.
“Music from Art” Dec. 3 at Pacific Univ.
Music and art will combine
for a special fall concert on Fri-
day, December 3, at 7:30 p.m.
in McCready Hall at the Taylor-
Meade Performing Arts Center
at Pacific University. The pro-
gram, “Music from Art,” will in-
clude the sounds of the Pacific
University Symphonic Band to
coincide with the opening of the
“Tooned In” art exhibit in the
Kathrin Cawein Gallery on
campus.
Featured music includes se-
lections based on and inspired
by works of art in other media.
For example, “The Ascension”
is based on Dante’s literary
work The Inferno and “The Min-
strel Boy” is taken from
Thomas Moore’s poem of the
same name.
The “Tooned In” exhibit fea-
tures works by Pacific alumnus
Oak Village
Laundromat
4 Jumbo
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Air-conditioned
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Ample Parking
located next to
Jim’s Market
at the junction of
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Main Street, Banks
Ray Nelson, president and cre-
ative director of Flying Rhino-
ceros in Portland. The exhibit is
open from Dec. 1-22, 2004 and
then Jan. 3-20, 2005.
Nelson co-founded Flying
Rhinoceros in 1993 after work-
ing as an animator at Will Vin-
ton Studios. The company pro-
duces and distributes interac-
tive programming, educational
books, classroom materials,
television cartoons, software,
and Web sites. Today Nelson
serves as Flying Rhinoceros’
creative visionary. He is the
main author and illustrator of
the company’s learning books
and he created the characters
and concept for the CBS televi-
sion show “Flying Rhino Junior
High.”
Concert admission is $5 for
adults, and $3 for students and
seniors. Tickets are available at
the box office at 503-352-2918
or at the door. The Cawein
Gallery exhibit is open to the
public at no charge. Gallery
hours are Monday through Fri-
day from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. or by appointment.
For more information on the
Gallery, call 503-352-2216.
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