"Wild About Parrots"

Maya
Photo courtesy of
Drew Altizer Photography

Arader Galleries, San Francisco, had the pleasure of hosting the San Francisco Zoological Society’s Benefactor party in our galleries on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010. The lively event was co-hosted by Barnaby and Martha Conrad and MacGregor and Mary Read.

The event comes days before the highly anticipated annual ZooFest, the San Francisco Zoological Society’s most celebrated fundraiser, held on April 30th, 2010 at the zoo. This year, the ZooFest's theme is “Wild About Parrots” and focuses on South American parrots whose habitats and lives are continually destroyed through illegal trafficking and deforestation.

A portion of the money raised by ZooFest will go towards the restoration of the San Francisco Zoo’s South American Tropical Forest Aviary and parrot habitat. A moving speech delivered by Executive Director and President of the San Francisco Zoo, Tanya Peterson, highlighted the importance of preserving the lives and habitats of these beautiful birds.

Along with the many benefactors of the San Francisco Zoo, Mark Bittner, author of The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill attended the party and signed copies of his book. Live owls, a chatty parrot and a peregrine falcon, presented by handlers from San Francisco Zoo, also greeted attendees and served as a reminder of the great impact the Zoological Society has on these animals.

The event at Arader Galleries provided the perfect platform for the celebration of ZooFest and the many outstanding accomplishments made by the supporters of the San Francisco Zoo for the care and conservation of animals.