Adults joining in on the spooky season at Zoo Boo 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — ABC57’s Blake Parker spent Friday at Potawatomi Zoo for its opening weekend of Zoo Boo, an annual family-friendly Halloween event, where she spoke with families and staff about some of the growing trends people are noticing this year.  

One of the more noticeable things happening is an increase in adults dressing up this year. A 2025 Prosper Insights and Analytics survey shows just over 51 percent of adults who celebrate Halloween plan to dress up, a number that’s been increasing over the last five years. Executive Director for Potawatomi Zoo, Josh Sisk, said it’s a trend he’s seen grow at Zoo Boo, even taking part himself.  

“Over the years it kind of seems like Halloween was really geared towards the kids but we’re noticing more and more, I mean I know even myself and my friends, we’re dressing up, we’ve already got our costumes this year and we’re seeing it here at Zoo Boo as well… I think that we’re kind of becoming more young at heart, I think that we’re wanting to kind of get back to those fun roots and just have a little fun this time of year,” said Sisk.  

Another thing that people said has grown is the number of different events and celebrations, like Zoo Boo, leading up to the day of Halloween. 

“It was Halloween day basically, you would trick-or-treat and now, actually as a parent raising young kids, I have two seven-year-olds, I feel like it doesn’t stop. We start early in October and there’s always a trunk-or-treat or there’s a school function or there’s something else,” Zoo Boo guest, Jenni Ranft.  

People also said with more events happening and prices on the rise, the cost is also something they’ve seen getting steeper. That same Prosper study shows the expected spending for an average household exceeds $160 this year.   

For many, however, they said that cost is worth the memories made.  

“I think the kids always remember it. We were together and in a cohesive group and dressed up together and had a lot of fun,” said Zoo Boo guest, Brittany Allan.  

To learn more about Zoo Boo and weekend two, click here.