Zoo balloon to return … for one more season
The Philadelphia ZooBalloon will make a return.
The static gas balloon will be inflated on March 28 and will operate daily from April through October, weather permitting, according to plans outlined Friday by Philadelphia Zoo officials, Mayor Michael Nutter and Bernie Prazenica, president and general manager of 6 ABC (WPVI-TV), which sponsors the balloon.
The previous ZooBalloon, which had been in place since June 2002, was damaged beyond repair by heavy snow and was deflated Feb. 4. The new balloon is only expected to be in use for one season.
With the balloon tethered to the ground, some 228,000 visitors since 2002 had gotten a view of Fairmount Park and Philadelphia from 400 feet in the air.
After the previous balloon was taken out of commission, officials from the zoo and 6 ABC were met by “overwhelming response from zoo visitors and Channel 6 viewers alike, sharing fond memories of sweeping Philadelphia views from 400 feet,” the zoo said in a release.
“The Channel 6 ZooBalloon was not only an iconic part of the Philadelphia skyline for more than a decade, but it also marked another innovative first for Philadelphia Zoo as the only tethered helium balloon in an American zoo at the time of its introduction,” Vikram H. Dewan, president and CEO of the zoo.
“The positive responses and moving farewells our guests have shared since the balloon’s deflation were heartwarming, and we are thrilled to give them one more opportunity to make a lifelong memory.”
The Philadelphia Zoo (3400 Girard Ave.) is the nation’s first zoo and receives 1.2 million visitors a year.
