2026 July Buzz

New Summer Concert Series

BYOLC (bring your own lawn chair) to rock out with one of your favorite local bands at Zoo Nights Live, our new summer concert series. This family-friendly event will feature fun activities and great specials at The Lodge and Farmhouse Cafe. Grab some dinner and enjoy the music in the Picnic Grove with family and friends.

Zoo Nights Live is free for Zoo Members! It's included in the regular daily admission ticket price for all others.

Schedule:

July 25, 6:30 – 9:30 pm: City Sun

August 22, 6:30 – 9:30 pm: UltraFab

Other Details…

Photo Contest Starts

The Zoo's annual photo contest starts next week! Submit your best pictures of the Zoo from July 6 through August 7 to be considered for the 2027 Conservation Calendar that's distributed to all Zoo Members in December.

Categories this year are Birds; Black and White; Cats; Giraffes; Humor; Large Mammals; Small Mammals; Large Reptiles and Amphibians; Small Reptiles and Amphibians; Scenery; Wild Card; and Zoo Farm.

Photos must be horizontal orientation and print quality to be considered. Please read all the rules and guidelines before submitting your photos.

Rules and Guidelines…

Zoo Hours Update

The Zoo is open from 10 am to 7 pm daily through August 31, last entry at 6:30 pm. This includes Friday, July 3 and Saturday, July 4.

The Zoo is also open every Saturday at 9 am to Zoo Members only through the end of August.

See you at the Zoo!

Zoo Events…

BGCNIC Adopt Continues

You haven’t missed out! We’re still partnering with the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Indiana Corridor! Since their mascot is a blue dart frog named Blu, we named one of our blue dart frogs Blu. You can adopt a blue dart frog through the end of the summer to support both great organizations!

The blue dart frog adopt includes a blue dart frog stuffed animal wearing a Boys & Girls Club bandana, a fact sheet about Blu the mascot and the Boys & Girls Club along with a fact sheet about blue dart frogs, and a blue dart frog adoption certificate.

Adopt A Frog…

Humane Society Success

For two weeks in June, we collaborated with the Humane Society of Elkhart County by providing Zoo guest passes to families who adopted animals.

We’re so happy to share that 135 animals (92 cats and 43 dogs) were adopted from June 15 through 27. It was an honor to be part of such an important collaboration. We’re glad we were able to share Zoo passes with all the new families of all those adopted animals.

Adopt A Family Member...

Thanks For A Great Zoo Luminate!

Thank you to everyone who enjoyed Zoo Luminate this year and the beautiful “Sea To Believe” Chinese lanterns. Stay tuned for news about next year’s event!

Our special thanks to sponsors of the event including Visit South Bend Mishawaka, Indiana Michigan Power, WSBT 22, MacAllister Rentals, Jayco, Barnes & Thornburg, Gurley Leep Automotive Group, and an anonymous Zoo friend. We couldn’t have done this without their help and assistance!