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Lowry Park hosts top-rated beer festival WaZoo this weekend
Tribune file photo
Jessica Burns, left, and Huston Lett enjoy a beverage at the 2007 WaZoo fundraiser at Lowry Park Zoo. About 3,000 to 4,000 attend each year, the zoo says.
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Published: July 27, 2009
TAMPA - It's a rare charity event that can claim to have been named one of the Top 10 Beer Festivals in America.
Earlier this decade, USA Today gave that status to WaZoo, the annual event at Lowry Park Zoo, presented this year by beer distributor J.J. Taylor.
"It's one of the three major fundraisers we hold each year," said Rachel Nelson, spokeswoman for the zoo. "We usually have between 3,000 and 4,000 people turn out."
In recognition of the economic malaise gripping the country (and especially Florida), the zoo has lowered prices for this year's Saturday event while also offering more perks for attendees. Tickets are $50 in advance and $65 the day of the event.
The Beastly Beverage Club will return, locating in the new Safari Lodge. This air-conditioned VIP lounge will house a DJ and additional food and beer choices. Getting in will set you back $75.
Nelson said animal ambassadors will greet patrons at the Safari Lodge.
"We have an especially friendly opossum," she said. You can probably also expect a sloth and a reptile or two (touch a snake if you haven't before; they're actually not slimy).
But the big attraction here is the more than 200 varieties of beer available, which makes this event one of the biggest (maybe the biggest) beer festivals in all of Florida. There is also a wine garden, tons of food from local restaurants and live entertainment, including Velvet Jones, Impulse and The Paper Stanleys.
Among the numerous breweries participating are locals Cigar City Brewing, Dunedin Brewery, Tampa Bay Brewing Co. and Tampa Bay BEERS. Wineries include the Florida Orange Grove Wineries.
The zoo has been on a roll of late. Earlier in the year, Parents Magazine named Lowry Park Zoo as the best in the nation for kids. "It's unbelievable how close kids can get to the animals here," the article states. It's true, as any Tampa parent who has taken their kid there can attest.
All the proceeds from WaZoo go toward paying for care of the zoo animals.
If you go
WaZoo
WHERE: Lowry Park Zoo, 1101 W. Sligh Ave., Tampa
WHEN: 7:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m. Saturday
ADMISSION: $50 in advance (through noon Friday) and $65 the day of the event; $75 for Beastly Beverage Club; call (813) 935-8552 ext. 296 for advance tickets, day-of tickets can be purchased at zoo's main entrance.
INFORMATION: www.lowryparkzoo.com
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