Big Bear – This weekend! The Photography Contest will be held on Saturday May 14, 2011.  The photography contest offers you unique photograph opportunities among animals in the Moonridge Animal Park.  This year we are again offering photo contest entrants to have a pre-contest tour of the park and receive photography tips from photographer Bill Young.  Bill will be offering a pre-contest orientation of the zoo and share some techniques for photographing animals and other aspects of the zoo.  The pre-contest tour and photo tips starts at 8:30AM and is offered at no additional cost.

Throughout the day animals will be brought out to the presentation green for special photo opportunities. For more event details, background information on the judges, contest rules and view previous calendar year pictures please visit http://moonridgezoo.org/photocontest.html

There is no pre-registration. The entry fee is $15.00 for adults and $10.00 for children. The price includes regular admission into the Moonridge Animal Park. The photo contest hours are 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with registration between 8:30AM to 12:00 Noon. You can enter the contest on one of five skill levels: Child, Novice, Intermediate, Advance, or Professional.   The photographs will be professionally judged by wildlife photographers.  Photograph winners, in each skill level, will have their pictures placed in a professionally designed 2012 Calendar, covering 15 months — October 2011 through December 2012.  All photo contest participants will receive a copy of the calendar as a thank you for supporting the Moonridge Animal Park.

The Friends of the Moonridge Zoo was formed in 1989 as a non-profit public benefit corporation whose purpose is to support the Moonridge Animal Park through: (1) Educating the public regarding treatment, protection, and conservation of wildlife; (2) Recruiting and coordinating zoo volunteers; and (3) Fundraising.