I WANT A HIPPOPOTAMUS FOR CHRISTMAS!!

On Monday, December 1st, native Oklahoman, Gayla Peevey Henderson will sing her famous song “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” during a Skype broadcast at 11 a.m. in the Zoo’s Education Center’s auditorium located at the east end of the Zoo’s parking lot. Refreshments will be served along with a selection of “hippo” merchandise that will be available for purchase.

Gayla first sang the song in 1953. It quickly gained popularity on the radio, and a local promoter used the song in order to raise money to purchase the OKC Zoo's first hippo; Matilda, who lived at the zoo for over 50 years.

Merry Christmas!!!

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL:

The University of Central Oklahoma’s International Festival was hosted today in Ballrooms A, B, and C in the Nigh University Center. Students gathered to partake in the free music, food, and activities being held by different groups of international students.

There were booths for Western Culture, including an American booth and England, which was made up of a lot of fun, pop culture series such as Doctor Who and Harry Potter (and I’m pretty sure I saw a few Hogwarts students in their uniforms milling about with all us muggles!)

Eastern culture was represented all around; Taiwan, Vietnam, China. These students showed off their beautiful paper artworks (such as lanterns and sets for plays; I recall a boat and a cherry blossom tree in one of the booths.) The students in these booths also gave out free samples of indigenous recipes for the rice and chicken combination.

The Middle East was represented with the beautiful opening number of the festival; showcasing a Saudi Arabian wedding dance, where the bride’s maids danced for the bride. The music was vibrant and fun, and you could really tell that the students putting on these performances to show off bits of their home countries were enjoying the experience and being able to share that experience with their fellow classmates at UCO, whether they are native to America, or are from another country themselves.

It was very fun, but also very crowded and loud. It was hard to really take in all of the different booths when people were being so impatient.

End of Season Updates:

Okay folks, we've entered the time of year where the weather is getting colder and holidays are popping up every other week in seems. That means that a lot of activity in the zoo goes down.

For the time being, the following activities will still go on, weather and staff permitting:

• Giraffe Feeding
• Lorikeet Feeding
• Elephant Demonstration
• Carousel 
• and Tram

Weather permitting generally means that there is no precipitation, and that the temperature is at least 55 degrees or above. Once the temperature falls beneath 55 on a regular basis, these last few extras will stall until next season when the temp starts to rise once more.

The Zoo will stay open to the public everyday with the exceptions of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. In the past, the Zoo has closed when roads have been deemed too hazardous to drive on.

For those of you on a budget but still wanting to see the Zoo, December and January offers special Free Admission Mondays.