Tag archives: Zoofari

It’s a Jungle Out There
By Richard Mineards   |   September 3, 2024

Our tony town’s party animals were out en masse for Santa Barbara Zoo’s sold-out 38th annual Zoofari “Jungle After Dark” with more than 750 guests converging on the 30-acre hilltop menagerie housing more than 600 animal inhabitants and raising around $700,000. Like fireflies in the night, the creatively costumed guests – covert camouflage, jungle jewels, […]

Making the Zoo Shine
By Richard Mineards   |   September 5, 2023

Our tony town’s party animals were out en masse for Santa Barbara Zoo’s sold-out 37th annual Zoofari “Sparkle & Shine” gala with more than 800 guests converging on the 30-acre hilltop menagerie housing more than 600 animal inhabitants and raising more than $400,000. Like fireflies in the night, the creatively costumed guests unleashed their inner […]

One Enchanted Evening
By Richard Mineards   |   September 6, 2022

The party animals were out in force when Santa Barbara Zoo held its 36th annual sold-out Zoofari gala with an Enchanted Forest theme, with the 712 guests taking the theme to heart with colorful, creative costumes more befitting Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and the Harry Potter novels as they converged on the […]

Going Wild
By Lynda Millner   |   September 28, 2021

Lions and tigers and zebras, oh my! Yes, the Santa Barbara Zoo was back, wilder than ever for the XXXV Zoofari ball. This year’s theme was “Return to Basecamp” and all the safari clothes and animal prints came out of the closet. Rincon Events was back serving up a spread at “camp” along with sunset […]

A ‘Wild’ Party
By Richard Mineards   |   September 7, 2021

The party animals were out in force, vaccination passports in hand, when the Santa Barbara Zoo hosted Zoofari Ball XXXV Return to Basecamp, attended by more than 630 supporters and raising nearly $200,000 for the popular menagerie. Guests in their safari gear and Harrison Ford lookalikes joined the party on the hilltop for sunset cocktails, […]

Zoofari Ball XXXIV
By Lynda Millner   |   September 12, 2019

The Santa Barbara Zoo has been giving the wildest party in town for 34 years. The 500 or so animals don’t seem to mind when it’s time for the Zoofari Ball – this year’s theme was Summer Camp with the campsite being the hill at the Zoo. It was definitely glamping, not camping.   Some […]

Happy Campers
By Richard Mineards   |   August 29, 2019

Memories reigned supreme when Santa Barbara Zoo held its 34th annual Zoofari gala with a Summer Camp theme, billed as “more fun than jumping off a dock and more exciting than flashlight tag.” More than 600 guests, dressed in camp counselor T-shirts, cargo shorts, lifeguard outfits, safari attire, flip flops, and hiking boots, converged on […]

Zoofari Ball XXXIII
By Lynda Millner   |   September 13, 2018

The wildest place in town, the Santa Barbara Zoo, gets a little wilder every August with the Zoofari Ball, this year the 33rd. 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 – […]

Zoo’s News
By Richard Mineards   |   August 30, 2018

Flower power reigned supreme when Santa Barbara Zoo held its 33rd annual Zoofari gala with a Summer of Love theme, the 1967 phenomenon that put the San Francisco neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury into the global spotlight and singer Scott McKenzie immortalized the heady moment in his homage to the City by the Bay. Pucci, Gucci, and […]