The 22nd Do at the Zoo brought out the party animals for a culinary safari that took some palates into uncharted territory (mesquite- grilled Colorado goat, anyone?) while those who like to play on fashion’s wild side sipped and supped at 79 refreshment stations in outfits ranging from aloha shirts, cargo pants and pith helmets to feather-trimmed cocktail dresses and strappy stilettos.
The event chaired by Lynn Kitt grossed $582,000 for Asian Tropics, a 10-acre, $50 million conservation center and exhibit expected to open in late spring of 2012.
Specifically, the net proceeds from Do at the Zoo 2011 will be used to complete a new home for rhinos and tapirs within Asian Tropics, and to acquire an endangered, one-horned rhinoceros.
Denver Mayor Guillermo “Bill” Vidal and his wife, Gabriela, were among the 2,000-plus there to sample fare such as the goat served by Beatrice & Woodsley, the three varieties of housemade sausage from Euclid Hall or the bison short ribs from Edge Restaurant in the Four Seasons Denver.
Staci Mantegazza, Leslie Tanner and Sarah Schwab answered the call of the wild by choosing animal print dresses; comedian Josh Blue and his wife, Yuko, along with Jim and Judi Bien, chose Hawaiian-inspired floral prints. Morgan Haselden — her family’s Haselden Construction was in its sixth year as the Do’s presenting sponsor — turned heads with her strapless white cocktail dress trimmed with brilliants and maribou.
Attorney Craig Fleishman and his wife, Layne, were fresh from a vacation on the Amazon and they continued their jungle state of mind with a leather cowboy hat and Bermuda shorts (him) and an electric-blue floral-print shift (her).
Zoo director Craig Piper (blue aloha shirt and white linen slacks) helped welcome a crowd that also included University of Colorado president Bruce Benson and his wife, Marcy; Eddie and Susan Robinson and Kevin and Mary McNicholas, whose Robinson Dairy and K-M Concessions have been sponsors every year since the benefit’s start; Denver Art Museum president Cathey Finlon and her husband, Dick; Mike and Karen Long (his Arrow Electronics sponsored the main stage, where the Moderators provided dance music); corporate chairmen Greg Kalkwarf and Sean Nohavec; restaurant coordinator Kelly Eisinger and ticket sales leader Heather Johnson.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@ ; also, | davidson and GetItWrite on Twitter
