MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND... isn't the most indoorsy of occasions. True, it happens to be one of the brunchiest holidays of the year, and brunch, as a rule, is often served inside, but finding a restaurant patio full of families celebrating Mother's Day, in the sunshine, is not all that unusual in Southern California. The fact is we like to revel in the Maytime sweetness under the sun, and even our most under-the-roof traditions, like eating a meal, have a way of heading outside. So to find an event that is fully outside, in nature, with animals, on the Saturday before Mother's Day? It feels rather special. And adding to the special character of a certain annual event flowering in Santa Clarita on Saturday, May 12? It's a fundraiser, for the the conservation of the world's smallest ape. Several of those apes happen to live where the fundraiser is taking place, at the Gibbon Conservation Center, making it a day of learning, touring, breakfasting, and, yes, experiencing the famous gibbon "song," where all of the center's residents join together in a wondrous howling of great and volume-rich beauty.
BREAKFAST WITH THE GIBBONS FOR MOTHER'S DAY... swings into the center from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and includes breakfast, as the name suggests, plus a tour of the center, plus activities for the kids. Also, there's a silent auction, and a "(r)affle for moms." The cost is $25 for an adult, $15 for seniors and children, and, if your tot is age 5 or under, they may enter for free. If you haven't experienced this lively location, one of the conservation gems of our region, consider a sunny spring Saturday, one with a holiday feel, the right moment. That the money goes to helping these animals is the extra wonderful part of a wonderful day out in the sunshine.
