Nights at the zoo in LA

The Los Angeles Zoo comes to life in the evenings starting Friday, July 7 with all-ages Zoo Friday Nights Presented by L.A. Care.

Guests discover what their favorite animals get up to during the cooler twilight hours.

Families can roam the entire zoo until 8 pm,  enjoying music, a Family Dance Party , games, interactive education stations, and more.

Full bars (21+), food truck fare, and carousel rides are available for an additional fee.

Each evening will feature a different band along with DJ Johnny Hawkes, who will be spinning genre-blending mashups from the past few decades.

The first evening will feature nine-member Masanga Marimba Ensemble, playing high-energy, family-oriented traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America. Other performances in the series include all-female Pulp Vixen; ’80s cover bands Flashback Heart Attack and Pop Gun Rerun; plus Reggae, Soca, and Caribbean band Upstream, among others.

JULY 7

Music: Masanga Marimba Ensemble, DJ Johnny Hawkes
Food Trucks: Baby’s Badass Burgers, Cousin’s Maine Lobster, Burnt to a Crisp Texas Smokehouse, After’s Ice Cream, Border Grill, Rice Balls of Fire

JULY 14

Music: Pulp Vixen, DJ Johnny Hawkes
Food Trucks: Baby’s Badass Burgers, Cousin’s Maine Lobster, Burnt to a Crisp Texas Smokehouse, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, Jay’z Tacos

JULY 21

Music: The All the Vibes Band, DJ Johnny Hawkes
Food Trucks: Baby’s Badass Burgers, Cousin’s Maine Lobster, Burnt to a Crisp Texas Smokehouse, Kona Ice, Border Grill, Rice Balls of Fire

JULY 28

Music: Flashback Heart Attack, DJ Johnny Hawkes
Food Trucks: Baby’s Badass Burgers, Cousin’s Maine Lobster, Burnt to a Crisp Texas Smokehouse, After’s Ice Cream, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, Jay’z Tacos

AUGUST 4

Music: Pop Gun Rerun, DJ Johnny Hawkes
Food Trucks: Baby’s Badass Burgers, Cousin’s Maine Lobster, Burnt to a Crisp Texas Smokehouse, Kona Ice, Border Grill

AUGUST 11

Music: Upstream, DJ Johnny Hawkes
Food Trucks: Baby’s Badass Burgers, Cousin’s Maine Lobster, Burnt to a Crisp Texas Smokehouse, After’s Ice Cream, Jay’z Tacos, Rice Balls of Fire

AUGUST 18

Music: Shades of Blue, DJ Johnny Hawkes
Food Trucks: Baby’s Badass Burgers, Cousin’s Maine Lobster, Burnt to a Crisp Texas Smokehouse, Kona Ice, Jay’z Tacos

This seven-week series runs until Friday, August 18 from 6–9 p.m. $25 per adult (18+); $20 per child (2-17); and $15 for GLAZA members.

Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens welcomes more than 1.8 million visitors each year.

It is home to a diverse collection of nearly 2,000 animals acrpss 290 different species, 66 of which are endangered.