Credit: Tracey Woods
Politics can make for strange bedfellows, but it’s not often that you see your elected officials handling actual snakes.
Nearly 200 people, including Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca, crowded into the basement of the Main Branch of Maplewood Memorial Library to see a free “Animals of the Amazon” event hosted by the Maplewood Green Team in celebration of Green Month.
Dominic Rizzo, a long-time favorite at Maplewood Green Day, wowed local kids with large snakes, an albino hedgehog, a scorpion, a tropical toad, and many other unique animals. DeLuca and Maplewood resident Cynthia Kern provided the highlight of the day when they helped Rizzo carry a huge snake through the crowd of children, allowing enthralled youngsters to touch the animal — if they could summon the courage.
Visit maplewoodisgreen.org for the full event schedule for Maplewood Green Month. For more scaly and furry animals, visit Rizzo’s Wildlife World in Flanders, NJ.
