Zoo To Do Is Always A Wild Night Out in Dallas — Crystal Animal Projections, African Penguins, and Great Food Make For A Memorable Event

A menagerie of 800 of the Dallas Zoo‘s most ardent supporters migrated to Fair Park on Saturday, November 2, for the organization’s annual fundraiser, Zoo to Do, which was presented by The Eugene McDermott Foundation.

Call it family intuition. Just as birds possess a keen sense for weather changes and alter their behavior accordingly, Zoo to Do co-chairs (and mother/daughter duo) Mary McDermott Cook and Grace Cook followed their fundraising instincts when impending weather threatened to rain on the proverbial parade. Three days before the gala, the co-chairs sprang into action, moving the event from the zoo to Centennial Hall at Fair Park. For an event of this size and scope, the move was an impressive feat!

Even with the last-minute venue change, the zoo’s Animal Adventures Outreach team delivered on guests’ favorite part of the night— interacting with the animals. Nearly two dozen zoo residents ventured to Fair Park for a wild night on the town, including African penguins and Caribbean flamingos, as well as lizards, snakes, and porcupines.

Event partners Fauxcades and Lightware Labs transformed Centennial Hall, including remarkable “crystal-cut” projections of animals running along the interior’s brick walls. Borrowed from the upcoming Dallas Zoo Lights presented by Reliant, giant glowing lanterns in the shape of some of the zoo’s most beloved species lined the entryway as attendees arrived. Like most of the other guests, I wore black mixed with animal print for the “Safari Noir” theme.

Zoo to Do stands out as perhaps the most delicious fundraiser in Dallas. For the “strolling dinner,” chefs from 36 local restaurants participated, including Goodwin’s, Salum Restaurant, Monarch, Truluck’s, Cafe Momentum, and Petra and the Beast. Each restaurant offered one perfectly executed bite. Everyone wanted the incredible garlic noodles from Mot Hai Ba, and a scoop from Botolino Gelato Artigianale drew the longest long. (I opted for a decadent slice of carrot cake from Ocean Prime, but VIP tables included a pie from Emporium Pies and access to a swanky speakeasy.)

In addition to a silent auction and “Big Board” items, three raffle prizes included a Tuatara 1000EFI (“the ultimate UTV for adventurers”), a behind-the-scenes encounter with a Dallas Zoo baby, and a Yeti filled with, well, a lot of beef from the Cook family’s Rush Creek Ranch, including a Hereford/Angus crossbreed not sold anywhere else.

During the spirited live auction, the perennial favorite private chef’s dinner sold multiple times (for a cool $35k each). Auctioneer Louis Murad also introduced a new-to-Zoo-to-Do package— dinner with a view into the otter habitat!

A Who’s Who of Zoo to Do came out for the wild night.

Steadfastly supporting the Dallas Zoo’s vital work of protecting endangered species and inspiring the next generation of conservationists, guests included Dan Patterson, Ruth Mutch, Marena and Roger Gault, Matrice and Ron Kirk, Purvi and Bill Albers, Cindy and Chuck Gummer, Kim and Greg Hext, Carol and John Levy, Carol and Don Glendenning, Jennifer and Peter Altabef, Diane and Hal Brierley, Christina and Rob Swift, Shawna and Josh Hinkel.