PHILADELPHIA — Drink, taste and hear the best Philadelphia offers while seeing nearly 2,000 different animals at the oldest zoo in the country.
The Philadelphia Zoo is hosting its annual Summer Ale Festival on Saturday, July 20, allowing visitors to check out animals, live music, food trucks and some 100 different award-winning beers, cocktails, seltzers and much more.
"It's truly a Philadelphia-based event, giving people an opportunity in the community in Philadelphia and in Central Pa. to experience the 1,900 different animals that we have in our care," said Patrick McMaster, director of marketing at the Philadelphia Zoo.
The event is one of the zoo's biggest fundraising events of the year. All proceeds go towards the 150-year-old zoo and their conservation efforts.
"We have many different conservation projects that we're working on," said McMaster. "[Conservation of] golden lion tamarins in Brazil, we just had a group of our staff in Ecuador, working on frog preservation. There's a whole list of different things that we're doing across the globe to save wildlife."
They also hope the event draws new visitors to the zoo which will spark a new passion for wildlife.
"We really pride ourselves on connecting people with wildlife. That's the true mission of the zoo here," said McMaster. "There's people in this community that will never have the opportunity to go to Africa to see a gorilla or go somewhere to see a wild tiger. This is our mission, to connect those people and help them build empathy for the animals that are here in our care."
It's a wildlife experience that McMaster says won't be forgotten.
"It's just amazing to see [guests] see these animals up close that they may have seen in a book or TV," said McMaster. "To come literally inches away from an endangered silverback gorilla and see that [is special]."
In addition to the award-winning drinks, a handful of food trucks and live performances will be present. This year's music artist lineup includes Moon Poodle, Marielle Kraft, and Nik Greely & the Operators who will all perform on the zoo's main stage.
The event will take place on Saturday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and is limited to people 21 years old and over. General admission tickets cost $75 and VIP tickets (which give you one-hour early access) are priced at $90. Each ticket comes with a souvenir cup and access to unlimited drink samples on the grounds. There are also non-drinker tickets available for $35.
More event details and ticket information can be found on the Philadelphia Zoo's website.