alling all art and animal fans.
Whether you’re a professional painter, dancer, or just have an appreciation for art and animals, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Prospect Park Zoo has something in store for you. The zoo will hold its annual Wild Arts Weekend, a celebration of visual and performing arts as they connect to animals, July 19-20 from10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The weekend provides a wild array of thrilling activities, including live painting demos, dance, and of course, exciting encounters with some of the zoo’s most popular animals.
Painters, writers, and performance artists of all kinds will set up shop throughout the zoo to showcase their work. But the fun isn’t all left to the pros. Kids will also get a chance to create their own animal-themed crafts, including mini animal houses inspired by the animals of Beatrix Potter.
Whether you prefer creating, performing, or watching art, there’s something to fit your creative fancy at the zoo this weekend:
· Pratt Student Art Show: Beautiful illustrations of the Prospect Park Zoo’s animals will be on display this weekend in the zoo’s Animals in Art Gallery, courtesy of the talented art students from the Pratt Institute (Summer exhibit is open now to September 1, daily).
· Painting: Members of the local watercolor society will bring out their easels and brushes to make the baboons, sea lions, and other wonderful animals found at the Prospect Park Zoo into their muses (10 a.m. to noon, both days).
· Dancing: If you’re into the performing arts, dancers from the Philippa Kaye Company will be performing “Humorphous,” interpretive dance inspired by animals, throughout the zoo (11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., both days).
· Live Animal Encounters: Meet the coolest creatures in Brooklyn as zookeepers and volunteers bring out some of the zoo’s unique animals into the Discovery Theater or Barn Stage (times and featured animals will be posted at zoo entrances all weekend).
· Kids Crafts: Children can create a mini animal house inspired by Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, and all their friends from the Beatrix Potter books (11 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Barn area, both days).
· Additional crafts include fish printing (1-4 p.m., in the Barn area, both days) and Create-A-Circle-Critter (11 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Animals in Art, both days).
· Heart of Brooklyn: Arts & Cultural Activities Meet Up: The Heart of Brooklyn Meet Up group will host a “Paint-Out Meet Up” at the zoo on Saturday at 12 p.m. Here, Meet Up members can learn all about animals and art! A tour of the zoo will also be given.
To join the Heart of Brooklyn Meet Up group, visit http://nightlife.meetup.com/288 and RSVP for the Zoo event.
· Discovery Center: The interactive Discovery Center, which features books, games and a variety of animal-themed activities for kids will be open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kids can also create sidewalk chalk creations outside the center, from 2-3 p.m., both days.
For more information about Wild Arts Weekend, call 718-399-7339 or visit www.prospectparkzoo.org.
Zoo admission is $6; $2.25 for seniors 65 and older, $1 for kids 3-12, and free for children under 3. Zoo hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays until 5:30 p.m. on weekends. The zoo is at 450 Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Park.
