For a second year in a row, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo won’t be hosting its traditional Boo at the Zoo event or the popular ZooLights, citing concerns about the pandemic.

Washington Post reporter Fritz Hahn first shared the news. 

“You can appreciate that the primary audience for Halloween events are children not able to be vaccinated at this time. Our priority is still to do everything we can to keep visitors, staff, and animals safe,” wrote Zoo spokesperson Pamela Baker-Masson in an emailed statement to DCist/WAMU.  “We all feel hopeful that 2022 will bring new opportunities.”

Baker-Masson added that the National Zoo will not be running the ZooLights Express this year, the mobile, flatbed dancing panda truck whose flop was widely viewed as a fitting end to 2020. 

The zoo reopened this May as part of the Smithsonian’s phased reopening plan, requiring entry passes for all visitors and masks in indoor spaces. While the zoo had previously opened its doors in July 2020, following a closure at the start of the pandemic, it shuttered once again in November of last year as coronavirus cases in the region began to rise again.

This September, the zoo announced that all of the great cats who reside there tested positive for COVID-19. As of the start of October, the six lions and two tigers continue to be treated for the virus, and follow-up tests from both tigers and one lion have tested negative. All of the cats are “improving and eating,” per the zoo.

Boo at the Zoo is a popular fundraising event that sees costumed kids visit the National Zoo after hours. Last year, the zoo switched it to Boo Drive Thru, keeping everyone in cars instead of on-foot. But this year, the zoo will forgo the event entirely.