What:
Internationally renowned author, Amy Tan, is attending Woodland Park Zoo’s 29th Annual Jungle Party presented by Wells Fargo. This year’s theme of the zoo’s premiere fundraiser is Beijing ~ Jewel of the Middle Kingdom. Tan will be hosting the Fund-Our-Future presentation during Jungle Party and will be available for interviews before the auction begins.

The focus of the 2005 Fund-Our-Future is the Conservation Action Fund. This fund illustrates the importance that conservation plays in our mission through our support, relief, and leadership for species and habitat preservation.

Additionally, media are invited to film or photograph the last-minute hustle and bustle throughout the day as zoo staff and volunteers transform the North Meadow into the sights, sounds and culture of the great country of China.

When:
Friday, July 8
Amy Tan available for interviews: 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Jungle Party set-up: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Where:
Woodland Park Zoo’s North Meadow located near the North Entrance off N. 59th St. & Phinney Ave. N.

Info:
The evening's festivities include the opportunity to bid on several hundred exciting auction items and experiences, live entertainment, up-close animal experiences for patron guests, a gourmet sit-down dinner and open bars. More than 1,000 of the Northwest's civic and philanthropic leaders attend Jungle Party each summer, which raises over $1.1 million each year. The fundraising auction and dinner supports the zoo's animal care and conservation and education programs.

Amy Tan is the author of “The Joy Luck Club,” “The Kitchen God’s Wife,” “The Hundred Secret Senses,” “The Bonesetter’s Daughter,” “The Opposite of Fate,” and two children’s books, “The Moon Lady” and “Sagwa: The Chinese Siamese Cat,” which has now been adapted as a PBS production. Tan was also a co-producer and co-screenwriter of the film version of “The Joy Luck Club,” and her essays and stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. Her work has been translated into more than 36 languages. She lives with her husband in San Francisco and New York.

Accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, award-winning Woodland Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting a standard for zoos all over the world. With conservation, education and excellent animal care at the core of the zoo’s mission, the zoo is helping to save endangered species in Washington state and around the world including tree kangaroos, snow leopards, red-crowned cranes, African wild dogs, western pond turtles and Oregon silverspot butterflies. By inspiring visitors and others to care and act, Woodland Park Zoo is making a difference in our planet’s future.