Instead of buying roses for Valentine’s Day this year, try naming a cockroach.
Brookfield Zoo Valentine’s Day tradition of letting the public name cockroaches after exes and loved ones continues this year – and officials hope the even will be bigger than ever before.
Through Feb. 5, anyone can name a Madagascar hissing cockroach in honor of a special (or not-so-special) person in their life on this day dedicated to love.
For a $15 donation to the Brookfield Zoo, donors can name a cockroach and it will be featured on a live board called the Cockroach Board.
Participants also will be provided with a certificate of naming that includes a donation receipt. This dubious distinction – sorry, cockroach lovers – can be shared or displayed on a wall.
Brookfield Zoo will unveil the Cockroach Board Feb. 14 and will share pictures on social media, permitting participants to easily locate the names they chose.
Brookfield Zoo’s Donor Society’s Manager Ethan Chapin said Brookfield Zoo started this campaign in 2020.
“We saw some nice response during that initial launch and we decided to give it a go in 2021 and it grows in popularity each year,” Chapin said.
Chapin noted that the original Name a Cockroach event had a slow rollout. The first year, about 300 people participated. In the second year, participation nearly doubled.
“We wanted to keep that momentum going. We had 768 people participate in it last year,” Chapin said.
When asked about the inspiration and motivation for putting the Name a Cockroach at Brookfield Zoo to life as an annual tradition, Chapin responded that it was a fun way to engage with the community and poke fun at how Valentine’s Day isn’t a fun holiday for everyone, especially if someone went through a breakup.
Those who are engaging in this campaign will be contributing to the Brookfield Zoo annual fund, which serves as a crucial source of funding for the zoo
“This support provides the zoo with the financial flexibility necessary to address emerging financial challenges and obstacles as they arise. Curing the animals, preserving conservatism efforts worldwide and responding to challenges and seizing opportunities as they arise,” Chapin said.
Chapin also said Brookfield Zoo is also doing its first printable Valentines. For a $15 donation that supports the zoo, participants will receive a link in their donation receipt to 12 exclusive, family-friendly, printable valentines that captures photos of the beloved animals at the zoo.
For more information, visit https://www.czs.org/Cockroach.