Preview of the zoo anniversary in June
Animal park festival on 14/15 June - Creative competition with kindergartens and primary schools - Exhibition in the VitaCenter - Call: Memories and anecdotes - Further projects
Chemnitz Zoo is celebrating its 50th anniversary in June. The countdown started today at midday, exactly 50 days before. Mayor Miko Runkel and zoo director Anja Dube presented the programme for the anniversary year.
Mayor Miko Runkel: "The zoo is one of Chemnitz residents' favourite leisure destinations. I am sure that we have put together an exciting and entertaining programme to celebrate the zoo and its residents in style."
The highlight will be the zoo festival on 14 and 15 June. Under the motto "A Kingdom for Frogs and Co", the frog will be at the centre of the colourful programme for young and old, with numerous fairytale play stations on animals and fairytales with animal figures on offer over the festival weekend. These include a large playground on the festival meadow, craft activities and face painting for children and a stage programme with quizzes, dancing and prize-giving. Zoo manager Anja Dube and vet Peggy Riedel will be holding animal consultations, and there will also be crate and food presentations. Visitors to the festival will be well catered for. Visitors who are also celebrating 50 years with the zoo this weekend will receive free admission.
In the run-up to the festival, there will be a creative competition for Chemnitz kindergartens and primary schools, which also has the frog as its "heraldic animal" as its theme. He and his animal friends should be the main characters of an animal kingdom that the little ones should paint, craft, glue or knead. The best ideas will be honoured by a jury at the zoo festival and the entries will then be on display in the zoo.
50 years of Chemnitz Zoo is also the theme of an exhibition that will be on display in the Vita-Center from 10 June to 5 July. Eight interactive game stations are dedicated to the history of the zoo, present typical job profiles at the zoo and invite visitors to take part in a quiz on rare animal species.
Other activities and projects are also planned for the anniversary year. For example, there will be another photo competition in the summer, the foyer will be extended to include an aquarium for tropical freshwater fish financed by the Friends' Association and preparations will continue for the new replacement deer barn. In addition, 50 more animal sponsorships are being sought and the blood donation campaign in cooperation with the German Red Cross will be organised again. The traditional children's festival is scheduled for 3 October. On 26 November, zoo manager Anja Dube will be presenting an evening of history and stories from the zoo at the adult education centre.
And last but not least, the countdown to the zoo festival starts today on chemnitz.de and on the city's Facebook page, which will highlight life in the zoo and its history in all its facets in 50 images.