MANHATTAN — Winterfest is returning to the Central Park Zoo next month.
The three-weekend holiday celebration, which started last year, will dress up the iconic zoo with thousands of festive white lights, bring polar-themed performances and include a presentation of gifts to the animals.
Polar bears and penguins received wrapped boxes filled with fruits and fish popsicles last year, much to the delight of children who watched the animals tear open the boxes, sometimes eating the cardboard along with their gifts.
During these first three Fridays and Saturdays in December, the animals will also get to stay up past their usual bedtime, as the zoo extends its winter hours from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Animal keepers and zoo guides will be available to talk to guests about the animals, zoo officials said.
The zoo’s theater will be screening "The Polar Express 4-D Experience," based on the Warner Bros. movie and inspired by the beloved children's book by Chris Van Allsburg, complete with sensory effects such as the smell of hot chocolate wafting through the theater. It will also be screening "Planet Earth: Ice Worlds 4D Experience" from BBC Earth.
For those who looking to escape the chill and be transported to the tropics, the zoo keeps its home to tropical birds, lemurs and other animals at a steamy 80 degrees year round.
Winterfest will be at the Central Park Zoo on the weekends of Dec. 2-3, 9-10, 16-17.
