ROYAL OAK, Mich., August 15, 2006 – The Detroit Zoo will celebrate Metro Detroit’s Middle Eastern community and culture at the Middle Eastern Festival on Saturday, August 26, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  The event is part of Summer Festivals at the Detroit Zoo…Like Nowhere Else, presented by Pizza Hut.

The Middle Eastern Festival will feature a dance performance at 11 a.m., traditional Armenian harp music, arts and crafts, and a community resource area where guests can talk with representatives from local Middle Eastern organizations about this vibrant culture.  The festival takes place in the plaza east of the Ford Education Center and is free with the cost of Zoo admission.

The Summer Festivals celebrate different ethnic groups each month and are filled with fun cultural activities such as arts and crafts, live entertainment and a cultural community resource area.  The Zoo hosted festivals celebrating the Asian American and Hispanic-Latino cultures earlier this summer, and will host an African American Festival on September 30.

In conjunction with its presenting sponsorship, Pizza Hut offered a special “Do the Zoo Thing” promotion this summer with all its dine-in, delivery and carryout business.  When customers purchased The True Zoo Family Deal at participating Detroit-area Pizza Hut restaurants, the company donated 20 percent of the purchase proceeds, raising $10,000 for the Detroit Zoological Society.

Pizza Hut Inc., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), is the world's largest pizza restaurant company with almost 6,600 units in the United States and more than 4,000 units in 100 other countries. The company is the recognized leader in the $37 billion pizza category. Those hungry for more information can go to the official Pizza Hut web site at www.pizzahut.com. 

The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo.  Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak.  The Detroit Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October – with extended hours until 8 p.m. Wednesdays during July and August – and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March.  Admission is $11.00 for adults 13 to 61, $9.00 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7.00 for children ages 2 to 12; children under 2 are free.  For more information, call (248) 398-0900 or visit www.detroitzoo.org.  The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March, and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks.  For more information, call (313) 852-4056. 
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