Photo courtesy of Birmingham Zoo
Glow Wild is an annual holiday tradition and has become one of Birmingham’s top holiday attractions. This year’s event kicks off on Friday, Nov. 22 at 5:00 p.m. and runs through Jan. 20.
Lulu Gribbin and her family will kick off the Birmingham Zoo's annual Glow Wild event at 5 p.m. on Friday. The family has been very active with the zoo for many years, and there will be a Pegasus display lit up in purple to honor Lulu.
Gribbin lost a hand and leg, along with two-thirds of the blood in her body, in a shark attack in the Florida panhandle on June 7. Since then, she has made remarkable but difficult progress in hospitals in Florida and North Carolina and returned home to Mountain Brook on Aug. 24.
On Friday, Gribbin and her family will get to flip the switch on Glow Wild's opening night, lighting up the colorful display throughout the zoo.
The annual event runs on select nights from Friday until Jan. 20, and this year's show, sponsored by UAB Callahan Eye, will feature new and larger lanterns, new entertainment, adult hot chocolate and more.
Visitors can expect larger-than-life animal lanterns around the zoo, acrobatic shows nightly at 6 and 7:30 p.m., special guests and appearances throughout the season and new virtual reality movie experiences featuring a holiday movie.
The Red Diamond Express Trains will be decked out in lights, and there will be a wide selection of food and drink options, including a boozy hot chocolate.
Glow Wild is a weather-dependent event with nights being subject to cancellation. Also, since it is a night event, zoo animals will not be viewable during Glow Wild. Tickets are $21.95 for adults and $13.95 for children aged 2-9 when ordered online. Tickets at the gate cost $23.95 and $14.95.
Online ticket sales stop at 4 p.m. the day of the event, and onsite tickets stop at 8 p.m. Entry into the event stops at 8 p.m, and Glow Wild ends at 9:00 p.m. The zoo recommends an allotment of one hour and a half (90-minutes) to fully experience Glow Wild and more time if riding the train.
To view the event schedule and purchase tickets, visit https://bhamzoo.ticketapp.org/portal/product/83.
