ROYAL OAK, Mich., June 27, 2008 – The Detroit Zoo will celebrate Metro Detroit’s Asian community and culture at the Asian Festival on Saturday, July 12, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  The event is part of Summer Festivals at the Detroit Zoo…Like Nowhere Else, presented by Comcast.  Festivities will take place on the grassy knoll at the front of the park and are free with the cost of Zoo admission.

The Asian Festival will feature Asian cuisine, traditional Japanese games presented by the Consulate General of Japan and hands-on craft activities such as Japanese calligraphy.  The event will also include a lion dance demonstration by the Asian Martial Arts Studio of Ann Arbor and a martial arts demonstration by the Southfield Martial Arts Institute.  The Nickelodeon cartoon Ni Hao, Kai-lan will be shown throughout the event in the Wildlife Interpretive Gallery Theater.  In addition, there will be enrichment activities with animals from the Asian culture, including the Japanese macaques, binturong and Asian wild horses.  

Also supported by Comerica Charitable Foundation, the Summer Festivals at the Detroit Zoo celebrate the cultural diversity in the Metro Detroit community.  Each festival includes activities such as live entertainment, storytelling, arts and crafts, and a community resource area.  The Zoo will also host festivals celebrating the Hispanic-Latino culture on July 26, the African culture on August 9 and the Arab-Chaldean culture on August 23.

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 (open at 9:30 a.m. Memorial Day through Labor Day) – 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 for adults 13 to 61, $9 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7 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. year-round and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks.  For more information, call (313) 852-4056. 
###