BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Consumers Energy is covering the entry costs for the first 2,500 visitors at Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek on Friday, Aug. 13 and Saturday, Aug. 14, the company announced Thursday.
At 11 a.m. Friday, Consumers Energy reported that more than 149,280 customers were still without power. Energy officials hope the free tickets will be a reprieve for West Michigan residents as crews continue to restore power.
Binder Park opens at 9 a.m. both days. It closes at 5 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. on Saturday. Last admission is one hour before closing time each day.
Guests do not need to be Battle Creek residents or even customers of Consumers Energy to receive the tickets.
Binder Park Zoo was similarly affected by the outages.
“When we lost power on Aug. 11, we were concerned about the impact to our animals and our ability to welcome visitors for the rest of the week,” said Diane Thompson, Binder Park Zoo president and CEO.
“We are grateful Consumers Energy was not only able to restore our power quickly enough to open on schedule the next day, but also is enabling more guests to visit the zoo over the next two days.”
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