Imagine enjoying a nice cold brew while hanging out with De Brazza's monkeys, or listening to a live rock band while observing African painted dogs.

Normally, this is against Pueblo Zoo rules. However, on April 27, Brew at the Zoo will allow patrons to enjoy craft beer and spirits, live music and the animals that call the zoo home.

“It’s one of the more vibrant days at the zoo,” said Adam Davidson, the zoo’s marketing and communications manager. "It's a great opportunity for people to see how awesome our zoo is."

The event is for patrons 21 years of age and older and runs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. inside the zoo. Brew at the Zoo features craft brewers from around the state, and even some outside the Colorado borders.

There will be live music from Mark’s Midnight Carnival, Change Agent and Wayne Faust, and keepers will give talks about the animals and conservation efforts the zoo takes part in.

Brew at the Zoo is a fundraiser for the Pueblo Zoo, but is geared more toward educating people about the zoo’s conservation efforts.

In particular, the event is aimed at informing those who may not be familiar with the zoo’s mission.

“For people who don’t normally come to the zoo, or who haven’t been to the zoo in a long time, they come to Brew at the Zoo and meet all these great brewers," Davidson said. "But we also make it a point of telling our story when they’re here."

That story is that the zoo and its staff strive to help protect animals and educate others on how to help day-in-and-day-out.

The zoo donates part of its proceeds to conservation organizations around the world. Those organizations work tirelessly to help conserve specific species.

Agencies in Nepal work to help navigate a delicate balance between the endangered red panda and the inhabitants of the region.

In South Africa, two organizations work to help African painted dogs and African penguins survive and thrive

“A portion of our dollars goes toward those organizations because that’s our mission,” Davidson said. “When we first started doing that, we knew it was the right thing to do. We’re learning a lot from those organizations.”

The zoo’s message of conservation is subtle at Brew at the Zoo.

Keepers speak on conservation efforts, and signs on display near animal habitats explain what people can do to help.

The goal of the event is for people to be educated while having a good time.

“We want to rock it,” Davidson said. “We want people to come here and feel like they are both at a zoo and working with a conservation organization and experiencing a brew fest.

“It’s not a party that happens in the zoo. We want it to feel part and parcel.”

Brew at the Zoo brings the zoo a new, broader audience as well.

Many think of the zoo as a place to take their kids. The event broadens the zoo’s reach to adults without children, or older attendees.

Davidson said the biggest benefit from the event has been the growth in engagement with zoo members, sponsors and donors.

As the event has grown, so has the support the zoo has received from such individuals and businesses.

“Those visitors at Brew at the Zoo have gone on to become attendees at Zoofari, which is our big gala that we have each June,” Davidson said. “A lot of those people are business owns and that brings in new donors to the zoo. It brings in new volunteers to the zoo and new sponsors.”

The more these individuals and companies know about the zoo, the greater the support for its efforts.

“The sentiment around our conservation is something that has been rising,” Davidson said. “Our donors, members and sponsors have been showing that they really support us working with those organizations worldwide.”

Now in year four, Brew at the Zoo has grown exponentially each year.

From a few hundred people during its inaugural run to over 1,000 attendees last year, the event grows in size and stature.

“This event has been growing a ton,” Davidson said. “The events have been growing and we’ve been able to tell that story — our story — more powerfully through them.”

Tickets to Brew at the Zoo are $40 if purchased in advance, $35 for members who purchase ahead of time at the gate and $45 at the gate the day of (while tickets are still available).

For those interested in biking to the event, the Southern Colorado Trail Builders will run a bike valet.

Members will secure the bikes and watch over them. The bike valet is free with purchase of a ticket.

For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit pueblozoo.org.

llyons@chieftain.com; @luke_lyons14