Gladys Porter to host Zoo Nights and Lights

BROWNSVILLE - Kevin Armstrong and his family waited eagerly for the choir to sing.

The family of three huddled together beneath a blanket of frosty air warmed by the candy land of colorful lights showering the night at Gladys Porter Zoo, which was presenting its annual Zoo Nights and Lights. The event, which runs each evening through Sunday, features about 135 lighted animal and holiday fixtures, said Ciri Haugh, marketing coordinator.

On the event's first night, children decorated gingerbread men or made Santa puppets, choirs sang, and light exhibits enthralled everyone with their wonder.

"I like the monkeys!" said Kevin and Jackie Armstrong's 8-year-old son, Noah, gazing joyously at two gorillas fashioned of luminescent snow-colored bulbs hanging above a pathway.

The pathways twisted through the park, past lighted rhinos grazing beneath purple-flowered orchid trees and a blue seal tossing a red ball. Cherry-tinted bulbs, posing as a vein of hot lava, twisted around a stone wall beneath sapphire blue monkeys dangling from palm fronds spilling away from a butterscotch-colored trunk.

The spectacle had already enjoyed a trial run the previous night, when Ginger Pawkett and numerous other VIPs attended a preview of the three-day extravaganza.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" said the 57-year-old zoo member. "The weather is nice and crisp and great!"

Marketing Director Cynthia Galvan said the turnout for the preview pleased her immensely.

"We had more people than we expected," she said. But the real fun is through Sunday.

"The kids will decorate gingerbread cookies and there's no additional charge. And also they'll have a craft, so they'll get to leave with two things. "

Enchanting saxophone music from the Ensamble La Mision group drifted through the nippy air as children rushed toward the gorilla exhibit, past stockings of red and green lights hanging in a tree; luminaries in Christmas colors lined the pathways; and the nasal squawks of flamingos poked through the breezy song of water falling over rocks.

Pawkett's granddaughter ran through a playground of visual delights, where burning blue jewels embraced trees, angels in butterscotch colors heralded the season's arrival, and noble electric-light soldiers stood guard.

"Oh, they are having so much fun," Pawkett said. "They are running from every light display, from one to the other. They are just running and running and having so much fun."

Someone kept calling out, "Hunter! Hunter!" searching for the 3-year-old son of Chris and Michelle Breeden.

"Which one did you like best? The monkey?" asked Michelle Breeden, as the family stood in line for a hot meal of rice, beans, asado de puerco, and tinga poblano.

Hunter Breeden, grandson of Valley Zoological Society President Don Breeden, did indeed like the monkey. He, sisters Madison, 8, and Saige, 13, and brother C.J., 15, had worked up an appetite roaming the wilds of the lighted zoo.

"I think it's great," said Michelle Breeden. "The kids are having a blast. They enjoy the lights. They are getting into the Christmas spirit."

The experience drove home to Maribel Baca the importance of the zoo's work.

"I just hope more people come out," said Baca, account development manager for Valley Coca-Cola. "It's such a beautiful zoo. They do such a beautiful job. We need more community involvement."

The following evening, the community appeared very much involved. Ensemble La Mision had set up at the front entrance performing a tropical rendition of "White Christmas" punctuated with hot percussion and interwoven with a joyous saxophone.

In a nearby room, the infectiously-sweet smell of cookie dough hovered over a group of children decorating gingerbread cookies.

"I like the gingerbread," said Blanca Nuñez, whose two boys, Johnny, 8, and Jeremiah, 6, had just finished decorating their cookies. The trio was now headed into the zoo.

"I like the idea a lot," she said, "because they got to decorate the gingerbread."

Farther into the park, Kevin Armstrong waited for his parents to perform with the South Texas Mass Choir in front of a light display that read, "Peace on Earth."

"It's beautiful," he said of the entire event. "I'm really enjoying just seeing the
lights and listening to the different music up front."

The cold-thronged night seemed to glow now as more people moved into the park, bundled in jackets and head wraps, the sounds of young shoes romping across asphalt. Synthesized music flowed into the damp air mingling with the thick sugary smell of funnel cakes as the choir prepared to perform.

"Great is he who is the king of kings and the Lord of Lords!" they sang. "He is wonderful!

FYI
* WHAT: Zoo Nights and Lights
* WHERE: Gladys Porter Zoo
* WHEN: 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Dec. 5 - 7
* COST: $2.50 or a new unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots.
Zoo members get in free.