2025 City Awake | Boston Lights at Franklin Park Zoo

Get ready to enjoy an immersive experience at Franklin Park Zoo where you will enjoy a night filled with lanterns, interactive displays, and the exclusive opportunity to have a live encounter with animals. Since 2020, Boston Lights has blended art, nature, and culture, drawing inspiration from Chinese influence and natural habitats around the globe, including mountainous plateaus, rainforest canopies, and undersea reefs.

At this event, learn how Zoo New England’s commitment to wildlife conservation and biodiversity, and explore ways you can actively participate in preserving wildlife and natural habitats.

ABOUT ZOO NEW ENGLAND 

Zoo New England is dedicated to protecting wildlife, from right here in Massachusetts to ecosystems around the globe.

Through local and international initiatives, we safeguard species and their habitats while inspiring people to take action for nature. Locally, our award-winning Hatchling and Turtle Conservation through Headstarting (HATCH) Program protects threatened Blanding’s turtles and other native species through headstarting, monitoring, and habitat restoration. Globally, we partner with community-driven efforts like One Health in Madagascar, which addresses the connections between human well-being, wildlife conservation, and ecosystem resilience. We also support giraffe conservation in Africa.

At Franklin Park Zoo and Stone Zoo, the animals in our care serve as ambassadors for their wild counterparts. Through immersive habitats and educational programming, we highlight the challenges of habitat loss, climate change, and illegal wildlife trafficking—while also showcasing solutions through our many innovative field projects. Our participation in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plans helps ensure healthy, genetically diverse populations for species ranging from snow leopards to western lowland gorillas.

Our Center for Zoonomics, a collaboration with the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard, advances the field of conservation genomics. By decoding wildlife DNA, researchers are uncovering new ways to protect species’ health and strengthen biodiversity worldwide.

As an AZA-accredited institution, Zoo New England’s commitment extends far beyond our gates. We support field conservation projects, provide scientific expertise, advocate for wildlife, and engage the community through citizen science, education, and volunteer opportunities.

Every ticket purchase, membership, and donation to Franklin Park Zoo and Stone Zoo helps fuel this work—connecting people with wildlife and driving real conservation impact. Together, we can inspire action, protect species, and build a more resilient future for our planet.

ABOUT CITY AWAKE

City Awake is the go-to network for Boston’s young professionals in their 20s and 30s, bringing together emerging leaders from diverse industries and backgrounds to expand their networks, strengthen civic engagement, and shape a more inclusive, vibrant region. Through dynamic events, cross-sector collaboration, and meaningful programming, City Awake helps young professionals build social capital, forge connections across industries, and find new ways to contribute to their communities.

City Awake is an initiative of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the Chamber’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit arm. Our work, focused on workforce and talent development, and economic inclusion, supports people and small businesses through programs that develop talent, cultivate future leaders, retain a strong workforce, and promote inclusive growth.