ROYAL OAK, Mich., October 1, 2007 – The Detroit Zoo’s annual “merry-not-scary” Zoo Boo celebration returns this Halloween season, featuring a festively decorated half-mile trick-or-treat trail through the front of the park.  Presented by National City, Zoo Boo will be held on the evenings of October 19 to 21 and October 25 to 31 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., rain or shine.

Elaborate pumpkin displays will line the trail, where greeters will pass out goodies to costume-clad children at treat stations along the route.   Those who dare can follow a trail of eerie fog and mysterious sounds through a spooky graveyard to the Haunted Reptile House, where witches, mummies, vampires and other monsters have taken up residence for the Halloween season.

Returning this year are Ghouly Games, featuring Halloween-themed games, prizes, arts and crafts.  Also back is the popular live mini-musical “Zoo Boo Revue” at the Zoo’s Main Picnic Grove, performed every half hour starting at 6:30 p.m.

The excitement continues at the Wild Adventure Ride’s spine-tingling “Haunted Mine Ride”, where passengers are transported into the deep, dark depths of a haunted gold mine as a ghostly prospector guides the thrill-seeking visitors through the run-down mine and sends them on a chilling rollercoaster ride through creepy caverns.

Advance tickets for Zoo Boo can be purchased at Booth One at the admission gate of the Detroit Zoo or by visiting any Ticketmaster retail location, calling (248) 645-6666, or clicking on www.ticketmaster.com.  Tickets are $6 per person, ages 2 and up.  Tickets for the Wild Adventure Ride are an additional $2 per person.  Time slots for Zoo Boo are 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.  If a date and time slot is not sold out, a limited number of tickets may be available at the gate that day after 5 p.m. for $10.

Zoo Boo is also supported by Meijer, State Farm, Blue Care Network of Michigan, Birmingham and Bloomfield Learning Centers, Life Savers, Tim Hortons, 100.3 WNIC, 106.7 the Fox, The Daily Tribune, The Macomb Daily and The Oakland Press. 

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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