What a dream night!

We had a dream night as we opened up DZC especially for chronically ill and disabled youngsters.

We were delighted to welcome 900 people on site last Friday evening, which included specially invited children in the care of local hospices, hospitals and charities, alongside their families, who all came as our VIP guests for the free after hours event.

Dream Night takes place at attractions around the world during the first Friday night in June to help families create magical memories at a place they may be unable to visit during normal opening hours.

DZC staff volunteered their own time to make a memorable evening for our special guests, who as well as visiting the animals around the 40-acre site, were also able to take a ride on our land train, make enrichment for our capuchins and meerkats in the castle courtyard, watch sea lion, meerkat and capuchin feeds, take part in a Horrible History session, have their faces painted, climb aboard our zoo tractor, feed our colourful lorikeets as well as riding the fun fair.

Firefighters from Dudley Fire Station also stopped by with a fire engine and our VIPs enjoyed complimentary refreshments in the Queen Mary Restaurant, thanks to suppliers who donated goods free of charge, including Brakes Food Service, Britvic soft drinks, Nestle, Tayto and Frozen Brothers.

Zoo Director Derek Grove, said: “It was our great pleasure to welcome and meet so many families for such a special event.

“This was the third time we have hosted Dream Night and the first since 2019, with DZC staff giving up their time to make sure the evening was a great success.”