A Marching Celebration of Life

Every day I walk the grounds of Lincoln Park Zoo. I am regularly inspired, even awestruck by the animals in our care. Recently, we’ve invested more and more in inviting people to share in what I experience every day. We are growing and expanding our efforts to be more inclusive, more accessible to the people we serve.

Sometimes, serving our community is genuinely magical and fills my heart with joy. Such is the case with DreamNight at the Zoo. This event, hosted annually by around 250 zoos around the world, produced at Lincoln Park Zoo by our Learning and Events Departments, and made possible thanks to a generous donation from the John Hart and Carol Prins Fund for Visitors with Special Needs, brings together a few hundred people for an exclusive night of programming for one specific segment of visitors: children with chronic healthcare needs and their families.

It’s a delicate, emotional, and humbling event. We don’t advertise it; rather we partner with incredible organizations including St. Anthony Hospital, Advocate Children’s Hospital, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital, and Make-A-Wish Illinois to invite families. Our goal is to create a space for families to enjoy a special experience all their own – and for their kids to enjoy the zoo with other kids just like them.

The event has all the usual programming for kids: animal chats and sing-a-longs with Mr. Singer—as well as a few special sensory play stations and art tables to engage our guests and connect them with animals and nature. This year, children could put on costume wings and play in a giant “bird’s nest” (an inflatable pool filled with paper scraps), or build paper airplanes and see which design flew the farthest. They were invited to draw animals with Chicago illustrator Steve Musgrave, or to simply romp around in the Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo tree canopy climber.

But the best part of the event is the end, when the Schaumburg High School Saxon Marching Band parades down the zoo’s Main Mall. DreamNight guests are invited to join, and the evening culminates in a marching celebration of life, right here in Chicago’s free zoo.

It sounds like your basic kids’ night at the zoo, and it is, except that it’s so much more. Many of these children spend most of their days in hospitals or doctor’s offices. Many of the families struggle with the logistical challenges of visiting a crowded zoo during our main operating hours. We are fortunate to welcome these families, and we are honored that they make the trip.

But it’s not only our guests who enjoy DreamNight at the Zoo. Many zoo staff members that volunteer for or attend the event report leaving inspired by the strength of the families and the joy expressed by the kids in attendance. One member of our staff said, “I learned about the strength of kids and parents and families, and would be lying if I said I didn’t come close to tears a couple times. I’ve seen the zoo full of kids before, but never full of kids who all, together, seemed so full of joy.”

On the guest side, one parent who visited on behalf of Make-A-Wish Illinois shared, “Tonight I watched kids in wheelchairs, some with no hair, and others whose diseases are invisible have a night just to themselves at the zoo. They were all smiling, and so were their families. These moments are priceless because they help take away those other moments when life is honestly hard. Thank you, Make-A-Wish and…Thank you also Lincoln Park Zoo for spreading happiness.”

I am grateful to our healthcare partners, to the zoo staff that plan and produce the event, and to every family that attends. It is an honor to serve our community.

For Wildlife. For All.

Kevin J. Bell
President and CEO
Lincoln Park Zoo

Top photo and below—some magical moments from DreamNight at the Zoo: