Six-year-old Aidyn Montford, dressed as a skeleton, trick-or-treated with llamas, monkeys and hogs on Halloween.
Aidyn was one of 6,000 attendees who walked along a quarter-mile path at Santa Fe College’s 23rd annual Boo at the Zoo, collecting candy and taking pictures at themed photo booth areas from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The teaching zoo, which usually costs $5 to $6 for admittance, was open to anyone who donated a canned food item, which was collected by Catholic Charities at the entrance. The canned goods were given to Catholic Charities and Gainesville Harvest, a food pantry at Santa Fe, organizer Haley Wilson said. Last year, 5,000 cans were given to charity.
Students of the college’s zoo animal technology program dressed in costumes and passed out about 60,000 pieces of candy. The volunteers began preparing decorations four months before the event, Wilson said.
“(The students had) a very small budget to work with,” she said. “So they bring a lot of great stuff out of nothing.”
Sections of the path had themes including “Star Wars,” “Hercules,” “Finding Nemo” and “Peter Pan.”
Aidyn and his two younger sisters played in the “Minecraft”-themed section and giggled at characters dressed in painted cardboard boxes.
His father, Adrian Montford, followed behind his children and said this was the first time the family attended the event.
“I was surprised. It’s pretty elaborate,” he said. “And the kids are having a lot of fun.”
Catholic Charities Director John Barli said the charity expects to collect even more this year because of higher attendance.
“This is kind of a cool idea,” Barli said. “We can involve the charities and the community in what we do.”
Students of Santa Fe’s zoo animal technology program dressed as pirates and passed out candy during Boo at the Zoo.
