ZooGala 2016 set for Sept. 16

The Birmingham Zoo will host its biggest annual fundraising event, ZooGala, Sept. 16 at 6:30 p.m. The event, sponsored by IberiaBank, will feature cocktails, music, dancing and a silent auction through 11:30 p.m. 

Dinner and dessert will be provided by Kathy G & Company. A-Town A-List will provide the night’s music. 

The cocktail-attire event is for guests 21 and older. This year’s theme is Asia-inspired in honor of the new Asian Passage exhibit at the Birmingham Zoo. 

The Asian Passage exhibit is part of the zoo’s $18 million renovation. A second-story elevated walkway just off what will be a new promenade will lead visitors over the train tracks and into an enclosed area which will house the exhibit.

The new exhibit, when complete, will replace the outdated predator building. Plans for the new Asian Passage exhibit call for the construction of new habitats to house endangered Asian species such as the Malayan tiger, red panda, Komodo dragon and Sumatran orangutan. 

Construction of the new exhibit likely won’t be complete until sometime in 2017 or 2018, said Marketing Coordinator Kiki Nolen-Schmidt.

Tickets to the event are on sale. Tickets are $150 each and VIP party tickets, including dinner, are $325 each. 

Tickets are nonrefundable. All funds raised at ZooGala go toward the zoo’s operational efforts. ZooGala 2016 is a rain-or-shine event.

For information about the Birmingham Zoo’s Corporate Partners Program, which includes ZooGala tickets as a benefit, contact Kristin Martin at 909-4560 or email kmartin@birminghamzoo.com.

To purchase tickets, go to tickets.birminghamzoo.com.