Summer event used to reach families for fun and education.

By Marc Benjamin / The Fresno Bee

Fresno Chaffee Zoo took on a Latin flavor Sunday.

The summer Hispanic Day program teamed the zoo with Spanish-language television network Univision, health-care providers, Hispanic entertainment and special bilingual zoo programs.

Zoo officials said they expected 10,000 to attend, which would make it the largest event of its kind since Hispanic Day programs began seven years ago. Final attendance figures won't be available for a few weeks.

Sunday's event was an opportunity to reach people who might not otherwise attend by bringing the zoo together with other forms of entertainment and health service programs.

"It is the busiest day the zoo sees," said Shelley Morrison, the zoo's director director of administration and finance.

Inside the zoo, families watched sea lions being fed and were given a close-up look at the zoo's reptiles and Galapagos tortoises.

"Do they bite?" one child asked.

"Yeah, they bite," said keeper Sergio Driver-Ruiz, with a slight chuckle.

Zoo officials say that in doing the Hispanic day programs over the years they have found that children have visited the zoo more than their parents. Children often visit during school trips while the parents are working.

"The majority of children probably come with school groups and I hear teachers say all the time that their kids wouldn't get to come if it wasn't for their schools," Morrison said.

Hispanic Day was started by Univision as a way to make the community more familiar with the zoo and bring attention to the zoo as efforts began several years ago to restore it, said Uriel Lopez, Univision's director of research and promotion.

Sunday's event was quite a contrast to a spring Hispanic Day, which was canceled because of rain. Roeding Park's parking areas were nearly full by 11 a.m. as lines of vehicles stretched across park entrance intersections.

By 11:30 a.m., state Assembly Member Juan Arambula had nearly run out of 500 free tickets purchased by his office for children. Without the free tickets, admission was regular price, $7 for adults and $3.50 for children.

"It's really nice to see whole families come out from grandparents to grandchildren," Arambula said. "I hope the children become lifelong patrons because we have a real gem in the zoo."

To receive a free children's ticket, families were required to fill out a flier signed by five health service providers to show that they visited booths set up outside the zoo.

"We are here for the boys to see the animals," said Natalia Reyes, who was flanked by her husband, Amparo, and their sons, Adrian and Daniel.

A few feet away, Umberto and Isabel Orozco had their blood pressure checked.

"My husband has chronic allergies," she said. "I like to keep up with details on health and learn about things I am not aware of."

Along with blood pressure checks, booths offered information about diabetes, poison prevention, nutrition, health insurance and jobs.

Maria Gutierrez, a nurse with Sequoia Community Health Centers, said the blood pressure checks are a good way for people to learn if they have health issues.

But the real problem, she said, is that many people choose not to be tested.

"Some of them don't want to know if there is something wrong," she said.

The reporter can be reached at mbenjamin@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6166.

Assembly Member Juan Arambula, D-Fresno, hands out free zoo tickets for children Sunday during the summer Hispanic Day at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. Arambula had 500 zoo tickets.

Photo by Craig Kohlruss / The Fresno Bee