Memphis Zoo’s Rendezoo (formerly Zoo Rendezvous), which was supposed to take place September 11th, is being postponed until June 4, 2022.
“It was postponed this year just with the increased risk of Covid and the climate that we’re in,” says Memphis Zoo communications specialist Jessica Faulk. “Our leadership team came together with our board members and decided it was in the best interest of our guests to stay safe and not be that hot spot for an increase in cases.”
There is “an increase in number of cases and it’s spreading,” says Memphis Zoo chief marketing officer Nick Harmeier. “If you’re still vaccinated, you can still spread it.”
Postponing a big fall event in 2021 isn’t something taken lightly. “It’s scary. We’re the first event to do that. But it’s the biggest party in Memphis annually. It’s not a situation we want to put ourselves in. It was a very difficult decision because this is the biggest fundraiser for us. But at the same time, this is a huge party. This isn’t a game where you go sit in an assigned seat. You’re face to face with tens to hundreds of people during the night.
“It’s a very sociable event. And masks are on and off. We know who this is. This is Memphis’ biggest party and we’d rather just play it safe. And that’s the thing, too. We want to be able to continue to be open at the zoo. So, if there’s something that we’re hosting that is a potential threat, then we’re going to pull back on that.”
To make Covid vaccines “more accessible to the community,” the Memphis Zoo “teamed up with Shelby County. And they have a van they pull out on here on Tuesdays to vaccinate people. It’s from 2 to 6 p.m.”
This was the first year the name was changed from “Rendezvous” to “Rendezoo,” Faulk says. It was going to be a “rebranding year, as we’re coming back from last year and the Covid season.”
Zoo Rendezvous was not held last year due to the pandemic.
The event was to have an ’80s theme. It also was going to be a tribute to the late Nick Vergos and Thomas Boggs, two of the founders of Zoo Rendezvous in 1983, Harmeier says. “So, the whole ’80s theme was kind of a hat tip to both of them.”
The ’80s theme and the tributes will carry over to the June 4th event, Harmeier says.
