The zookeepers have stepped in as Santa’s Elves to prepare gifts for the animals

ATASCADERO — The Charles Paddock Zoo is pleased to announce Holiday Magic 2022 on Saturday, December 17, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. The zookeepers have stepped in as Santa’s Elves to prepare gifts for the animals, and Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there to welcome visitors.

Here at the Zoo, it doesn’t matter if you are naughty or nice. The scheduled gift delivery begins at 10:30 a.m. and goes until 1 p.m. Gifts will be delivered to the animals throughout this timeframe, along with activities for the entire family to enjoy throughout the day. They are excited to welcome the strolling magician, Andy Morris, along with holiday music by Garry Brill and their Cockroach Holiday Village. Something for everyone to enjoy, plus the Zoo is dressed up with holiday decorations, so come celebrate the season with them. See how the animals tear into their gifts, from the meerkats to the tiger to the monkeys. They will be posting the Holiday Magic gift-giving schedule on VisitAtascadero.com/events and on the Charles Paddock Zoo’s social media pages.

All of the animals made the nice list this year and Santa has become overwhelmed with their wish list. If you are interested in helping Santa with the animal wish list and making sure our critters have an extra special holiday, please go to the following link to see the variety of Charles Paddock Zoo Enrichment items the animals enjoy:  amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1G37X516UD2EI/ref=hz_ls_biz_ex?fbclid=IwAR3RL57OLqeg_1_dS-z6lwUZWvTC_R3WVV9dYB0Xj-B771xthwqZU4CLqIw. 

Holiday Magic is a great time to come visit the Zoo and the events of the day are included with regular admission. Visit the Zoo Gift shop for stocking stuffer ideas and remember the Zoo Memberships too, as they make a great holiday gift.

The City thanks their sponsors including Mechanics Bank, Waste Management and New Times. They give a special thanks to Andy Morris for his magic too. 

Over 300 animals call the Charles Paddock Zoo home, including red pandas, monkeys, meerkats, parrots, a Malayan Tiger, a variety of reptiles and more. The Charles Paddock Zoo is open Daily from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Regular admission is $12 for Adults 13 and over, $8 for children 5-12, $5 for children 3-4 and ages 2 and under are free and Seniors 65+ are $10. For more information about the Zoo, please visit the website at charlespaddockzoo.org.