Day TripFriday, November 6
Fiona the hippo is now a 24-foot nutcracker at the Cincinnati Zoo
The 5AM Covington team
If you're ready for the holidays, the Cincinnati Zoo is. Crews lifted the head onto its Fiona the Hippo nutcracker Thursday, the finishing touch on a statue that guards the Vine Street Village entrance.
Fiona the Nutcracker is big, and every detail means something
- 24 feet
- tall, and eight feet wide
- 12
- people who spent more than 1,600 hours building her
- 29
- buttons on her coat, one for every pound she weighed at birth
- 6
- watermelon slices on her belt, for the weeks she arrived early
The details tell Fiona's story. Her belt buckle has a camera, a nod to growing up in the spotlight, and her little brother Fritz is painted on a toenail.
- Festival dates: Nov. 19 to Jan. 3
- Admission: the festival is included in zoo admission
- Closed: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
- New areas: Into the Cosmos, a bigger Under the Sea
The statue sets up the PNC Festival of the Lights. "There's a whole new Santa's Village that you're gonna love," said Chad Yelton, the zoo's vice president of business operations.
Over 5 millionlights at this year's PNC Festival of the Lights
The festival brings back fan favorites and adds new themed areas for visitors to explore.
Source: FOX19