Now that Independence Day is looming, it's time to start planning with the family. What are we gonna do? Your parents' house or mine? BBQ? It can be exhausting, especially if you have kids who want to relive the whimsical wonder of witnessing fireworks à la that scene in The Sandlot. So here are a couple of events for those who can't decide what to do. Head to the BioPark Zoo (903 10th Street SW) tomorrow morning, between 6 and 10am. Yes, it's early, but you get in for free during this time because 100.3 The Peak's Tony, Jackie and Donnie are broadcasting live, interviewing zookeepers and providing a morning of informative fun and leisure. It's regular admission for those who can't get up on time. On Friday, July 4, head to Balloon Fiesta Park (5500 Balloon Fiesta Pkwy.) for the Freedom 4th celebration. The festivities happen at 3pm and go through the night. Well, roughly 11pm. Hear music and see the state's largest display of fireworks. But if you want something more low-key, head over to Isotopes Park (1601 Avenida Cesar Chavez SE) and take in a baseball game on the 4th. The Albuquerque Isotopes will take on the Las Vegas 51s at 6:05pm. What better way to celebrate being an American than a good old-fashioned home run … assuming they knock it out of the park. Tickets for the game run $7-$28. So enough planning, more doing. After all—as Martina McBride says—“It's Independence Day!” ABQ BioPark Zoo • Thu Jul 3 • 6-10am • FREE • View on Alibi calendar

One of the perks of being an uncle is seeing a child's face as they tear open a present on Christmas, seeing their eyes light up, their smile ignite at the sight of that pair of shoes (my nephew's into Jordan's). But what if you don't have kids, or nephews, or friends with kids or nephews? And what if you're curious to see how animals (if you consider humans to be quite boring) react to receiving Christmas presents. Well, the ABQ Biopark Zoo (903 10th Street SW) has got you covered. Head to their Holiday Enrichment event tomorrow at 9:30am to see some animals opening their Christmas presents. The keepers at the zoo will provide primates, cats and elephants with yuletide trinkets ranging from paper chains to decorated tubes to edible goodies and boxes wrapped in fine fashion. But the best part of this whole shebang is seeing how the animals react. Will the primates jump up and down? Will the cats stare at the presents with suspicion before they try to claim the box as their new home? Head to the enriching festivities and find out. And it's included with regular admission to the zoo, so there's more bang for your buck. ABQ BioPark Zoo • Sat Dec 21 • 9:30-11:30am • Included with admission • View on Alibi calendar

If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. But if you give an orangutan a box of holiday goodies, he is most likely going to open it, play with and/or eat it and cause a highly unified chorus of "aaawwww." Our friends at the BioPark Zoo have certainly not forgotten that primates, big cats and elephants all deserve their fair share of presents for the holidays. Tomorrow is your perfect chance to see animal pals receive toys, chains, tubes and treats from their zookeeper friends. Zoo staff will be available throughout the morning to answer questions and explain how this special enrichment helps keep the animals active, alert and curious. Plus, it's going to be stinkin' adorable. ABQ BioPark Zoo • Sat Dec 22 • 9:30-10:30 am • FREE with park admission • View on Alibi calendar

The vulture needs a new PR person. Associated with death and rot, these hook-necked avians signal gruesome endings. But though this fowl's mission is seen as foul, is not the vulture Mother Nature's recycling agent? Her janitor? Sure, its head is bald so it can keep clean while pecking through entrails. But corpse disposal is filthy work, and someone's got to do it. Some species of vulture are close to extinction. Speak with biologists about why this feathered friend/fiend is fascinating in the Africa Exhibit at the zoo on Saturday, Sept. 1, which is International Vulture Awareness Day. The event is included with the price of general admission.

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