Are you feeling the Christmas spirit yet? Do you feel overwhelmed with work, shopping, parties and all else that comes along with the holidays? Christmas Town: A Busch Gardens Celebration, offers a great opportunity to rejuvenate and rekindle your love for this time of year.

After a thrilling Howl-O-Scream event it’s always difficult to imagine that within a month’s time the park has been transformed into a magical happy place full of snow, penguins and Santa Claus. However, once you start to hear classics like “Here Comes Santa Claus” and “White Christmas” pumping through the park you start to realize the gift that has arrived.

Before I came to the park, I was lucky enough to train and care for a colony of African Black-footed penguins at another zoo. It was there that I caught the penguin bug and have loved them ever since.

Christmas Town: A Busch Gardens Celebration is one of my favorite times at our park because not only does it mean peppermint fudge hot chocolate, but it means the penguins come to visit. I am really excited for our visitors to see the penguin exhibit this year because we will be featuring two different species.

For those of you that are familiar with our presentation, The Secret Life of Predators, you may see a familiar face on your TV this week. Cupid, our North American Barn Owl, is going to be a national star. If you’ve ever been to our presentation, then chances are, Cupid left an impression, as he flies right over your head.

During this time of year Water Country USA is closed and buttoned up for the season. The Water Country USA team gets the opportunity to come support our sister park, Busch Gardens. The past two months we have helped operate the “13 Your Numbers Up” and “Bitten” haunted houses for Howl-O-Scream. I spent 17 years working at Busch Gardens, so I especially enjoy seeing old friends and working back in my home park.

Little Goblins should:

- Cross street only at corners

- Never cross between parked cars

- Walk facing oncoming traffic if there is no sidewalk

- Always remove masks before crossing streets