{"id":225463,"date":"2026-04-09T22:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T22:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/225463\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T22:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T22:10:11","slug":"jacksonville-zoo-and-botanical-gardens-announces-tickets-on-sale-for-exzooberation-seagrass-derby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/225463\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens announces tickets on sale for ExZOOberation: Seagrass Derby"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"188\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/00244b79db571cf7856f7b9c63d6effc.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens has announced tickets are on sale for ExZOOberation: Seagrass Derby, its annual fundraising gala set for Saturday, May 2, from 6 to 10 p.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The 21-and-older event will be held for the first time beneath the VyStar SkyScape, overlooking the new J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver Manatee River habitat. Early bird pricing is available through April 10, with general admission starting at $185.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Organized around Kentucky Derby Day, the evening will include a watch party of the race, all-inclusive food and beverage tastings from local restaurants, open bars, live entertainment, casino-style gaming, animal encounters, and a silent auction featuring more than 100 items.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">VIP admission and table packages are also available, offering access to a premium experience area, a buffet, and exclusive vendors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cExZOOberation is more than a celebration, it\u2019s an opportunity for our community to come together in support of wildlife and conservation,\u201d said Nikki Smith, the zoo\u2019s Chief Philanthropy and Marketing Officer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Proceeds support animal care, educational programs, and conservation initiatives locally and globally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Tickets are available for purchase,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jacksonvillezoo.org\/exzooberation\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:HERE.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;HERE.&quot;}\" class=\"link \"> HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.actionnewsjax.com\/live-breaking\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:&gt;&gt;&gt; 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