A weekend of special treats for visitors & animals at Pt Defiance Zoo & Aquarium annual Zoo Boo

Visitors who come in costume get $3 off general admission

TACOMA, Wash. - It's part fall festival. Part treats for animals and people. Part amazing decorations throughout the grounds. And completely, unarguably spooktacular, spectacular fun.

Zoo Boo is this weekend - Oct. 18 and 19 - at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. It's the only time of the year that visitors are encouraged to come to the zoo in costume. And those who do get $3 off general admission.

Zoo staff members spent weeks preparing for Zoo Boo, and visitors will see creative displays of spiders and spider webs, zombies and creatures made out of bamboo, Scarecrow Alley, intricately carved pumpkins and more.

Activities, all free with zoo admission, include:

·        Trick-or-treating around the zoo for goodies.

·        A Witch's Ring Toss for those brave enough to try to capture the scary witch's hat.

·        A Spooky Spider Maze in which participants step, balance and hop while navigating a spooky spider web.

·        Ghoulish Golf in which golfers try for a hole-in-one while maneuvering through a field of ghoulish pumpkins.

·        Pin the Heart on the Tin Man, a game in which participants spin around three times and then attempt to stick the Tin Man's heart in exactly the right spot.

·        Who Am Eye? A game of "eye-dentifying" animals.

·        Weird Wacky Smells: The nose knows - maybe - and perhaps can come up with the right names for various smells.

Plus, zoo animals get special enrichments all day long. Look for polar bears chomping on pumpkins. Tigers getting special pumpkin-themed treats. And other animals receiving special fall-themed enrichments. They'll enjoy the eats and toys; visitors will be treated to some pretty fun animal scenes.

Zoo Boo is presented by Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores and BECU.

For more information, go to www.pdza.org.