The Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo opened its haunted home to more than 5,000 people for an afternoon of fairy tales and furry tails Saturday for its 15th annual Boo at the Zoo.
The crowd, including more than one Michael Jackson and fewer Tim Tebows than usual, compelled organizers to open gates at about 2:30 p.m., 30 minutes before the scheduled start time.
The event, which cost one canned good for admission, collected necessities for local food banks to distribute during the holiday season.
In return, dozens of dressed-up student zookeepers passed out about 96,000 pieces of candy to young trick-or-treaters shuffling from station to station.
Despite a sweaty day of prancing around as Rapunzel's blood-stained prince, Darcy Garcenton, a 20-year-old animal technology major, said the treat was all hers.
"It's the greatest thing in the world," she said. "The smiles on the kids faces? It's ridiculous. But it's more fun for us than it is for them."
She added that the event brings in enough food to stock every participating food bank for Thanksgiving.
Zoo director Jack Brown, who has worked at Santa Fe for 35 years and has overseen every Boo at the Zoo, said the visitors weren't the only ones to benefit from the project.
"The monkeys love the colors and the decorations," he said.
A sawdust-covered trail funneled children carrying pillow cases through a series of fantasy lands and ended with an appearance by Abby Arcane, the distressed vixen in "Swamp Thing."
Zookeepers played their roles with smiles, creating a family-friendly environment that Jennifer Pichardo, 36, said she appreciated.
"When you go trick-or-treating, it's usually just candy," said Pichardo, mother of a trick-or-treater. "This adds something special, but I did have to take my little dinosaur out of her costume because of the heat."
Upon exiting, visitors had the opportunity to suggest a name for the zoo's 3-month-old capuchin monkey, whose gender is still unknown.
Whispers among zookeepers indicate that "Cappuccino" is a popular suggestion for the baby, whose mother's name is "Frap"- short for "Frappuccino."
