By Judy Shields and Valerie Milano
Los Angeles Zoo, California (The Hollywood Times) 05/12/2022 – What a beautiful morning it was at the Los Angeles Zoo. Today, the media was invited to hear all about the upcoming live and in-person Beastly Ball. The Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association’s (GLAZA) Beastly Ball returns in person with actor, comedian, and host Joel McHale emceeing.
We were all welcomed by the President of GLAZA, Tom Jacobson. “After two years of being virtual, we are so excited to host this event in person, bringing together our loyal partners, sponsors, and friends to celebrate the Zoo’s conservation milestones and Ball honorees,” states Jacobson.“ This event is critical to the fulfillment of our mission, providing for GLAZA’s ongoing support of the Zoo’s work in wildlife conservation both locally and abroad, public education programs, and the latest advancement in animal care and veterinary medicine,” he goes on to say.
Next he introduced the actress, Kathryn Bowers. She said “Thank you, Tom and Denise for creating a new award that I’m sure you’re not even aware of. And that’s who can eat the most at the Beasley ball, I will be the first and only recipient every year.” Everyone laughed.
The last speaker was Denise M. Verret who said “I’d like to take a moment to reflect on Betty Whites deep love and passion for animals. She believed in the importance of zoos and the mission of species conservation and used
her influence, humor and generosity to make the world a better place for all living creatures. She will be missed by all and especially the animals Betty gave all her love to.”
Los Angeles Zoo.
It was great to be able to watch the feeding of elephants. They are amazing creatures and out they came to graze on the hay. The just happened to be two wonderful green watermelons sitting there with “Beastly” on one and “Ball” on the other. Well it didn’t take long for one of the elephants to walk over and start playing with it and then lifted its foot and placed it so gently on the “Beastly” watermelon and gave it a push and Voilà, the watermelon cracked open and the elephant was able to enjoy the treat. The other elephant came over and saw the “Ball” watermelon and picked it up with its trunk and walked away from the other elephant and then placed it gently on the ground and used its massive foot to crack open the watermelon just like the other one. I said out loud, “now I know how to open a watermelon…just step on it!
We then headed to the sponsor booths for food and drinks. Here is a list of those sponsors and want they had at their tables:
Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen – Grandma Zadlie’s Banana Puddin’ (rich pudding laden with a buttery cookie crumble and fresh bananas) @dulanssoulfoodkitchen
Hotville Chicken – Nashville Hot Chicken Salad Served Cold (Nashville fried, spiced & chopped w/Prince family secrets, celery & bell peppers) @hotvillechicken
In Good Taste Wines – Rose | Whites | Reds (wines from up and down the coast of California, France and Italy) @ingoodtastewines
Krispy Kreme Donuts – An assortment of delicious donuts @krispykreme
Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic – Refreshing mocktails (Non-Alcoholic Mojito | Margarita ready to drink cocktails) @lyresspiritco
Momed – Lamb Shank Tajine (California lamb, pine nut & currant couscous, apricot, garlic confit) and deviled eggs
Pink’s Hot Dogs – Stretch bee, Turkey, and Vegan hot dogs (chili, cheese, mustard, ketchup, onions, relish and kraut) @pinkshotdogs
Sammy’s Beach Bar Cocktail Company – Tantalizing tropical libations (Island Pop | Cherry Cola Chill | Pineapple Splash | Tangerine Dream) @sbbcco
Taste of the Wild Catering at the L.A. Zoo – South African Boerewors Rope Sausage Sandwiches (with caramelized onions on a baguette roll) Vegan option available
The Federal Bar – Mac & Cheese (shells with their house cheese sauce) @thefederalnoho
Yakumi – Tuna poke (with soy chili oil and sushi rice) Sake Cocktail (infused with Yuzu Honey) @yakumilfe
The Beastly Ball brings together celebrities, tastemakers, business leaders, city officials, and Zoo patrons for a wild night of fundraising. Guest of the Beastly Ball will be treated to after-hours access to the Zoo, where they will enjoy sumptuous dishes, sweet treats, and libations provided by the partners mentioned above as well as many others including La Casita Mexicana, McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream, El Cholo, Paquera Mezcal, and more. As guests stroll the Zoo grounds, they will be delighted by special animal feedings, keeper talks, and roaming entertainment as the party makes it way to Treetops Terrace for more food, live entertainment, and a virtual graffiti wall where guests can “paint” the canvas. There will also be mobile-bidding silent auction with more than 150 unique and one-of-a-kind items including travel, sports, entertainment, and animal adoption packages; artwork, jewelry, clothing, and signed items of Betty White, and much more. Beastly Ball tickets are $1,500 per person.
After enjoying all the delicious food and beverages we were given an exclusive tour to see the variety of animals who call the LA Zoo their home. We were all excited to see the newest member of the LA Zoo, which was the baby giraffe. Our tour guide told us the baby giraffe was 6’7″ at his birth three weeks ago. 10-year-old female Masai giraffe Zainabu, and 10-year-old male Masai giraffe Phillip, welcomed the healthy male calf on April 8. He sure is beautiful and standing close to his father Phillip.
As we drove around to see the animals, there were many mothers and their kids walking around to see the animals as well. There is nothing like watching the smiles on little children’s faces, as well as us big kids when we watch all the animals moving around, making noises and making us laugh on occasion. Enjoy the photos we were able to capture.
A great way to support the Los Angeles Zoo and spend time out of the house and come visit the animals in their house.