Zoofari Ball XXXIII

The wildest place in town, the Santa Barbara Zoo, gets a little wilder every August with the Zoofari Ball, this year the 33^rd. Co-chairs Lisa Carter and Nancy McTolbridge and honorary chair Kathy Jensen deemed it the “Summer of Love” a la 1967. Remember when bell bottoms were de rigueur along with tie-dye anything – go-go boots, beads, lava lamps, fringe and hair, lots of hair? More than 600 guests complied. Wigs were everywhere but some used their own. Watch out for all those peace symbols.

Rincon Catering did their usual dee-licious appetizers. My favorite was the chicken taco. The silent auction was humongous, and the $100 raffle tickets for a Panama Canal Cruise from Robertson International Travel on a 62-passenger ship from UnCruise Adventures raised more dollars for the zoo.

There were so many buffet lines, there was no waiting and much to choose from including four desserts. The decorations are always a highlight from the check-in table to the dining at hilltop. This year, even the napkins were tie-dyed. I loved the old Volkswagen painted with flowers that matched my real ’60s outfit given to me by a fashionista of the era. There were several flamingos out with their caretakers and one liked my outfit too, trying to eat the shiny beads off the fabric.

Union Bank was the premier sponsor, with dozens more listed on the program. All the funds raised go to this special 30 acres overlooking the ocean. The hilltop used to have a posh estate owned by a coffee and tea merchant. It is since gone, but the new tenants seem quite content: lions, giraffes, elephants, gibbons, and gorillas – oh, my.

If you haven’t been to the zoo for a while, come and see all the wild things. It’s truly a special place!

The zoo was founded in 1963. When I arrived in 1976, it was little more than a petting zoo. Now there are more than 500 animals representing 160 species. They may even be party animals, since I’m sure they could hear The Replicas playing into the night and see folks doing the Mashed Potato.