Zoo switches on night light show

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This article was published 19/02/2021 (1856 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s light at the end of the tunnel for those who have been stuck at home this winter: Assiniboine Park Zoo’s long-delayed lights exhibition plugs-in this weekend.

“It’s better late than never, as we say,” Assiniboine Park Conservancy chief operations officer Bruce Keats said Friday.

“Letting Manitobans and Winnipeggers come to a largely outdoor experience and be able to walk around and enjoy the outdoors and enjoy some light experiences, I think will bring some joy to a lot of people… looking for something to do that is very safe and very controlled.”

The Zoo Lights display was installed in September when city amenities were still largely allowed to operate and the zoo was anticipating launching its show at its usual time in November, Keats said.

“Unfortunately, COVID had some other things up its sleeve for us,” he said.

The zoo was closed under provincewide code red restrictions on Nov. 12, but reopened Jan. 30.

“We’re excited to bring some light to these pandemic times and show Manitoba what we’ve got and be proud of the Zoo Lights again this year,” said Keats.

Those familiar with the park’s light-up winter wonderland will notice a few differences this year. Most notably, the site has expanded to take over more of the footprint of the zoo and leave more room for social distancing. The new setup features more than 1.5 million lights over a two-kilometre outdoor loop.

A one-way path with a separate entrance and exit will help attendees keep to themselves.

The zoo has stepped up its cleaning procedures, and is asking all light show attendees to purchase tickets for specific date and time slots ahead of time to help manage traffic, Keats said.

“We had overwhelming crowds last year, so the experience will be much more muted in that regard.”

Concerts and other typical Zoo Lights programming have been cancelled to discourage gatherings, but well-spaced fire pits along the outdoor trail will allow families to warm up and enjoy the outdoors, Keats said.

Zoo Lights starts Saturday and will run nightly until March 28.

julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jsrutgers