Lions, Tigers And Reggae? Jamaica Adds Some Island Fun To Chicago Zoo’s Halloween Festivities

What could be a better way to celebrate Halloween than with a costume parade, costume contest, hayride, pumpkin carving, reggae rhythms and an all-inclusive vacation to Jamaica?  Princesses, pumpkins and pirates are all invited to step up to the Jamaica Tourist Board’s booth to enter the raffle on Saturday, October 20th or Sunday, October 21st for a vacation to Jamaica.  This is the Jamaica Tourist Board’s second year participating in the “Boo! at the Zoo” family Halloween event at Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois.

Roundtrip airfare for two from Chicago to Montego Bay has been donated by Apple Vacations and hotel accommodations for seven nights have been donated by Sunset Beach Resort.  An adventure tour by Island Routes Caribbean Adventure Tours is also part of the prize. The winner can choose a sunny catamaran excursion on the soft waves of the Caribbean Sea, or an extreme bobsledding adventure through Jamaica’s rainforest.  Second and third place winners will be trick-or-treated to some Jamaican goodies.
 
“The Boo! at the Zoo event was an absolute blast last year,” said Glen Bucknor, Jamaica Tourist Board Business Development Manager based in Chicago. “That’s why this year we are coming back again and offering even more Jamaica-themed prizes to the festive people of Illinois.”
 
The Jamaica Tourist Board’s booth at the Boo! at the Zoo event will have Halloween crafts and the Jamaican flag flying high from 11:00 a.m. -  4:00 p.m.  Visitors can enter the raffle for a vacation to Jamaica while listening to a bat and spider chat or watch the zookeepers feed pumpkins to the gorillas and rhinos. The Zoo’s costume parade will commence at 1:00 p.m., starting at the North Gate and will snake through “Australia,” “The Swamp,” and the “Great Bear Wilderness” all the way to the “Nature Stage” for the costume competition.  There, families can dance to the beats of the Jamaican One Man Band as the raffle winner is announced.
 
The annual Boo! at the Zoo event takes place at Brookfield Zoo.  The Jamaica contest concludes on October 21st, however, festivities continue the weekend of October 27th and 28th.