It’s the third Friday in October and that can only mean one thing: Time for the October Thirsty-Third Friday post! This month I’m going to an event at the Peoria Zoo. I’ve always wanted to attend one of these special night-time zoo parties and so it’s off to the zoo for a brew or two!
Here we are at The Peoria Zoo! It’s been a while since we’ve been here, this is an after-hours event, so we can’t wander around the whole zoo. The party is in the Africa section, so we’ll be able to get some photos of that area of the zoo. According to the sign on the door, we need to go that way, so that’s where we’ll go and it led us right to the check-in table where we were promptly checked in by Brenda.
WWCT is one of the sponsors for the evening and I heard a rumor that Marc Alghini and Roxy Baker, the WWCT morning team is going to be here, so let’s make our way into Africa and see if that rumor is true. Wow, there’s a big crowd here for the party and sure enough, the rumors were true for there’s Marc and Roxy making announcements at the stage area of the room!
Patrick n Swayze
Music for the evening was provided by two members of Patrick n Swayze. They sounded great and the crowd really enjoyed the tunes they provided throughout the night.
Vendors
There were lots of vendors on hand providing craft beer and a variety of fine wine. I didn’t get everyone’s picture, but here’s some of them! 1. Georgie and Jenn from Noir Tapas and Rendezvous Lounge. 2. Billy and Val from W.E. Sullivan’s. 3. Kelly and Justin from Kellehers On Water. 4. This woman was representing Biaggi’s and I didn’t write her name down. If anyone knows her name let me know and I’ll update it later. 5. Dustin and Ashley from Edge by Chef Dustin Allen. 6. Danielle and Jon from The Publik House. 7. And last, but certainly not least, there’s Nick and Abbie representing Tannins & Hops and check out the menu on display! The Wombacher Sour is an official drink there! We’ll be going there for the Thirsty-Third Friday in November to celebrate that, so stay tuned for that post!
People
There were some familiar faces in the crowd and I met some new and nice people as well and here’s some of them. 1. Denise and Regina. 2. Greg and Roxy. 3. Dueling cameras with Monica. 4. Monica and Roxy. 5. John. 6. Nate and Amanda. 7. Lynette and Jose. 8. And here’s some of the Peoria Zoo Crew, from left: Seth, Clarice, Jenny, Mindy, Yvonne and Brenda.
Glasses
I’ve never been to a party where you have to check your glasses at a certain point, but hey, if they want me to walk around blind, then so be it!
Africa
As I said in the beginning, this is an after-hours event at the Peoria Zoo, so we couldn’t wander around the whole area, but the Africa section was open so Roxy, Marc, Greg and I took a stroll through Africa. There weren’t a lot of animals out at this time of the evening, but we did see a couple of monkeys and two giraffes. This is a spacious area and if you haven’t been to the Peoria Zoo, you should definitely check it out, it’s very impressive! After our little tour, went back to get some dinner.
Dinner
The food was delicious and it was all-you-can-eat and self-serve. There was even a carving station with this gentlemen serving up tasty beef brisket and BBQ sauce! For dessert there was trays of little cake bites and animal crackers! Perfect!
Awards
Throughout the evening people voted for their favorite beer and wine vendor and the winners were: Tannins & Hops: Third Place. W.E. Sullivan’s: Second Place and Noir Tapas and Rendezvous Lounge got the coveted First Place award! Congratulations to all of them and thanks to the Peoria Zoo for a fun and festive evening!
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2320 N. Prospect Road
Peoria
309-686-3365
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Related Posts: Thirsty-Third Friday in: August and September.