‘All the magic of Christmas’ comes alive as Shropshire zoo opens its first festive village
A Shropshire zoo is opening its first festive village tonight, with Santa Claus, reindeers and candy canes offering the “true magic of Christmas”.
Telford’s Exotic Zoo has been holding a Santa’s Grotto in the park since it opened, but director Scott Adams, says the festive village is a new experience for the zoo.
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“With the grotto in the zoo, it always felt to me that you never got the true magic of Christmas because we have it in the day. So this year, we have created this festive village with 10,000 lights and all the magic of Christmas you can imagine that comes alive at night.
“We have traditional chalets, independent market stalls, the candy cane café, carnival games, plenty of food and drink and of course, the man himself. Our Santa has been with us since we opened and he looks just like he does in the film Miracle on 34th Street - And it is all lit up by 10,000 lights.”
The festive village also has animatronic reindeers, but there’s a chance for after dark visitors to also see some of the zoo’s real-life tenants.
“When the village is on, part of the zoo is open, so there’s a few enclosures people can visit open and more trade stalls.”
He added that the zoo is still holding its Grotto and Breakfast with Santa events alongside the festive village.
The Festive Village at the Exotic Zoo starts this weekend from 4pm to 7pm, it is on next weekend at the same times, then every day in the run-up to Christmas.
Admission costs £5 pp but tickets to see Santa are additional and must be booked online: https://www.exoticzoo.co.uk/pages/christmas
