ROYAL OAK, Mich., August 15, 2007 – The Detroit Zoo will celebrate Metro Detroit’s African community and culture at the African Festival on Saturday, August 25, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  The event is part of Summer Festivals at the Detroit Zoo…Like Nowhere Else, presented by Comerica Charitable Foundation.  Festivities take place in the plaza east of the Ford Education Center and in the African Grasslands and are free with the cost of Zoo admission.

The African Festival will feature a variety of live entertainment, including performances by BAMBUTI and storytelling by Ivory D. Williams.  Guests can receive African language lessons, sample food from local restaurants, and enjoy animal enrichment activities, a community resource area, and arts and crafts. 

The Summer Festivals at the Detroit Zoo celebrate the cultural diversity in the Metro Detroit community.  Earlier this summer, the Zoo hosted festivals celebrating the Asian and Hispanic/Latino cultures.

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) 541-5717 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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