NORTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — There was good news and there was bad news.
The burn ban brought on by a fall drought meant that the roaring fire pits at the Lehigh Valley Zoo's 11th Winter Light Spectacular, which kicked off Friday night, were a no-go.
But, the show must go on.
"It's maybe not as picturesque, but we've lined the fire pits with small propane fireplaces to comply with the ban and play on the safe side," said Matt Provence, the zoo's chief operating officer.
"They keep you warm and roast marshmallows. It's probably not as exciting as the big fire, but you have to do what you have to do."
And do, he did.
It was just a few minutes past normal 3 p.m. winter closing time Friday, but Provence, a little out of breath, was still on the move, running last-minute supplies to the concession stands and, with the rest of the employees, racing to put other finishing touches on the wonderland's memory-making just two hours away.
"You can always use another day," he joked, "right? But we're ready. It's probably time to do another count of the lights. We must be well past the 1.2 million number now.
"We've added a lot more displays and lit up more areas."
It's the 11th year for the Winter Light Spectacular, but the lights weren't all that had the team stirring.
"Historically we average 600 visitors on opening night, but we have Bluey and Bingo here all weekend, and we're already sitting at 1,000 presale," Provence said in a phone call Friday.
That didn't include the several hundred "walkups" anticipated.
"If nothing else, we feel really pleased and much gratitude to our guests."Matt Provence, LV Zoo chief operating officer
Just under 1,400 people attended the event's opening night in 2020, during the pandemic, he said, when people were allowed to get out of the house.
"We’ve already sold more tickets for this first Saturday as the final Saturday of last season. That should set us up in the right direction as far as breaking the tenth anniversary of last season," Provence said.
"If nothing else, we feel really pleased and much gratitude to our guests.
Also on Friday, Provence announced some pretty spectacular fiscal news as well.
"We’re excited to share that the Lehigh Valley Zoo has achieved a new milestone in guest attendance! During the 2023-2024 fiscal year (November 1, 2023 — October 31, 2024), we welcomed 183,414 guests — the highest attendance since becoming the LV Zoo in 2004," he touted on the zoo's LinkedIn page.
That's more than the previous record of 182,963 set in 2016-17, the year the popular giraffe exhibit opened.
And the new record does not include the nearly 60,000 guests from last year's Winter Light Spectacular.
"It is exciting, because we have been kind of chasing that year for awhile," Provence said. "Until 2023, we hadn’t had a new exhibit since the giraffes came in. That summer of 2017, we blew it up. After that, we had good years, but that was like the golden goose for us."
The red pandas, brothers Cosmo and Meeko, arrived in June. It took them a month or so to adjust to the heat, and more and more visitors came to see them. The zoo took them in as part of a five-year conservation program, led by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the zoo's accrediting body.
The prime directive of the zoo is conservation. The AZA holds the zoo to standards of excellence in both care and welfare of its animals.
"We are leaders in conservation. As an AZA institution, conservation is at the heart of our mission and we’re working hard to save species from extinction," the zoo's website states.
A second cria, or baby alpaca, was born in August, making the total of four alpacas since the adult pair arrived in 2022.
Growing a zoo
Provence said every day in May sells out due to programs, which include the topic of conservation, by its education department. With so many school groups in the Lehigh Valley, those programs stretch into late April and early June.
Other contributing factors include the growing number of guests and zoo memberships, which offer perks like early entry and special event invites.
"We have guests who visit one to three times a year. But then we have 5,000 memberships, which estimates to around 19,000 members just in that membership category, and then a ton of groups," said Provence.
"As a nonprofit...we’d like to be able to afford nice things if we have good years."LV Zoo COO, Matt Provence
"Our number one marketer is Mother Nature. You can have the best zoo, but if you don’t have good weather, it’s very difficult to draw people.
"As a nonprofit, we’d like to be able to afford nice things if we have good years. We've got older equipment and infrastructure, not great offices. Fiscal years like this one allow us to take care of some capital items on the waiting list.
"But it also allows you to dive into the next plan."
Winter Light Spectacular is open 38 dates this winter season. Organizers recommend purchasing tickets in advance. They're $16 for adults and $14 for children ages 2 to 11. (Members pay $10 for adults and $8 for kids).
Hours of operation on opening weekend are 5 to 9 p.m. Tickets are available at the zoo's website, along with dates, hours of operation, promotions and performance schedules.
