Zoo Knoxville is gearing up to throw itself a 40th birthday party this Halloween season, and the guest list includes monster mash dance parties, character meet-and-greets, and more than 1.2 million pieces of candy. BOO! at the Zoo opens Saturday, October 3, and runs on select nights through Friday, October 30, giving families 16 nights to trick-or-treat their way through the East Knoxville park.
General admission runs $15 for adults and children ages 3 and up, while kids under 3 get in free, according to WVLT. Tickets are limited each night, and the station reports guests are encouraged to buy them online ahead of time rather than risk showing up to a sold-out date. Parking, at least, is free every night of the run.
New this year is the HallowGlow Forest, described as an immersive light experience that guides visitors through the trees, the station's report notes. Beyond the light walk, the event promises new experiences, new characters and new animals, alongside returning staples like free Halloween-themed carnival games, seasonal food and spooky snacks, and specialty beverages for the grown-ups tagging along.
Four Decades of East Tennessee Trick-or-Treating
BOO! at the Zoo has been a fixture of the region's fall calendar since it launched in 1986, making it East Tennessee's longest-running family Halloween festival, according to Knox TN Today. Chick-fil-A Knoxville is back again as the event's primary presenting sponsor, continuing a multi-year corporate partnership with the zoo.
October has quietly become the zoo's busiest month of the year. In October 2023, Zoo Knoxville logged 81,803 visitors, with BOO! at the Zoo alone pulling in more than 30,000 of them, per WBIR. That same year, the zoo set an all-time annual attendance record of 591,131 visitors, generating an estimated $58 million economic impact and drawing 272,000 out-of-town tourists to Knox County.
For grown-ups looking for a night without the kids, the zoo is also hosting Brew at the Zoo on Friday, October 2, the evening before BOO! at the Zoo opens. That 21-and-over event features craft beers, food trucks, live entertainment and night wildlife viewing, according to a report from WATE 6.
A Conservation Powerhouse Behind the Halloween Fun
The seasonal festivities sit alongside a much quieter mission that has earned Zoo Knoxville international recognition. The park is known as the Red Panda Capital of the World, having bred more red pandas than any other zoo globally, with over 110 endangered cubs born through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan since 1978, per Zoo Knoxville's own account of the program.
The zoo has also spent 34 years in the American Red Wolf Recovery Program, currently housing over 40 red wolves and recording 23 pup births, including pups named Copper and Ember born in 2025. Hoodline previously covered how the community picked those names for the red wolf pups and bat-eared fox kits.
Leading the institution through this milestone year is President and CEO Bill Street, who took over in September 2024 with more than 30 years of executive experience from the Shedd Aquarium, Indianapolis Zoo and United Parks & Resorts, according to WBIR. Under the current administration, the park also opened the new Boyd Foundation Boardwalk at Clayton Timber Loop to daytime visitors in June 2026, expanding year-round accessible walking trails that had previously been reserved for night events.
Spanning 53 acres off Interstate 40 in East Knoxville, Zoo Knoxville is home to more than 800 animals across 200 species and holds full accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, according to Wikipedia. Whether visitors come for the candy or the conservation story, the zoo's 40th BOO! at the Zoo offers a reminder that the Halloween lights and the endangered-species work happen on the same 53 acres.
