Minnesota Zoo Concerts Would Continue if State Government Shuts Down

Music lovers, fret not—the Minnesota Zoo's Music in the Zoo summer concert series would be allowed to continue as scheduled in the event of a Minnesota state government shutdown, according to the zoo and Sue McLean & Associates, the private agency that booked all the artists for the concerts.

According to a statement on the Sue McLean & Associates website: "The SUBWAY Music in the Zoo concert series will proceed as planned if the Minnesota Zoo does have to shut down. Concerts will continue to take place at the Minnesota Zoo Amphitheater in Apple Valley and all ticket holders will be admitted to the venue beginning at 6 p.m. on the day of the show."

The upcoming concert schedule includes a 7 p.m. Thursday performance by , and 7:30 p.m. shows Friday and Saturday by .

The partial state government shutdown—sparing only services and operations —would be in effect beginning Friday.

At this point, the zoo to be allowed to remain open during a shutdown, arguing that the zoo expects to earn more than $1.5 million in July and $1.6 million in August; the zoo is also working on its Heart of the Zoo construction projects, which would be suspended. Losing out on some of those earnings would require the zoo to make budget cuts, according to the request, and possibly close exhibits.

Regardless of whether the zoo shuts down, some zoo employees will remain on the job to care for the animals, but many would be laid off for the duration of the shutdown. The zoo lists on its website a frequently asked questions page about the zoo and the shutdown.

• Regarding zoo memberships, the zoo will determine how to handle existing memberships once the length of the shutdown is known 
• The Great Clips IMAX theater also would remain open during a shutdown
• Programs such as zoo camp and birthday parties will be suspended
• The zoo's reservations systems will be unavailable, and people will be unable to purchase memberships