ActuaryPersonal2378 t1_j1xn1jz wrote on December 28, 2022 at 3:48 AM

Reply to comment by DCSubi in Was ZooLights worse this year than in the past? by Dukester1007

Part of this is because events are hosted by the zoo and not FONZ, the zoo has to go with companies approved by the federal government to contract with and many of those companies from previous years did not have relationships established with the federal government

DCSubi t1_j1xsl8j wrote on December 28, 2022 at 4:35 AM

There is no more FONZ. Previously, FONZ acted as a fundraising arm for the national zoo. The events FONZ previously executed raised funds for the zoo.

ActuaryPersonal2378 t1_j1y6jrl wrote on December 28, 2022 at 7:01 AM

I know that. What I’m saying is that because FONZ dissolved, that messed with who the zoo was allowed to contract with. They have to go through a whole different, more complex process through the federal government that FONZ didn’t have to do with outside event companies (like light companies). That greatly impacted events like Zoolights. So if FONZ contracted with Joe Schmoe for light decorations for zoo lights in 2019, but the federal government didn’t have a working relationship with Joe Schmoe in 2022, they couldn’t be used for the 2022 zoo lights. That greatly impacted it this year since the zoo couldn’t go with most of the purveyors from previous years (on top of a slashed budget).

SteamPunkTomCat6913 t1_j1zzvnf wrote on December 28, 2022 at 5:45 PM

And just to add on to this all, FONZ dissolved for its own reasons not because of any malfeasance on the Zoo's part. And as others have stated that left the Zoo with very little to no education or events staff. The Zoo is hiring to make these departments more robust. Combine that with the aforementioned issues with hiring contractors and COVID, events aren't going to be what they were like in years past right now. And they'll probably be different in the future too as the Zoo assesses the effect of these late-night events on the animals themselves. Remember that the Zoo exists for the welfare of the animals and their wild cousins not for our amusement--it's not a circus.