We’re not kitten you: this weekend, Easthampton will host its first-ever cat parade. (Fur real!)
On Saturday, Sept. 20, cats and cat lovers will gather at the pocket park on the corner of Easthampton’s Federal and Parsons Streets at 1 p.m., followed by the parade at 1:30 p.m.
That said, the event isn’t exactly what its name suggests – rather than being strictly a parade, it’s a neighborhood walking tour both with cats (on leashes and in strollers) and to see cats in the area in windows, on porches, or roaming around outside. (The organizers will also provide bags of treats to shake to lure cats out of bushes.)
Easthampton City Councilor Felicia Jadczak said she and her co-organizers, Lisa Hersey and Abbie Goldberg, had seen TikTok videos of a well-attended cat tour in Minneapolis, which gave them an idea: “Why can’t we do that here in Easthampton?”
“I love whimsical, fun public art that’s surprising to come upon,” Hersey said, “so I was really excited to get some kind of cat parade going.”
Why cats and not dogs? All three organizers have cats, for one thing. When Jadczak got her late cat, Jean-Luc Picat, “It was like living with a tiny alien who was perpetually surprised that I was in his house,” she said, “and I just thought it was so fun and different from having a dog.”
“Dogs are great too, but it is just a different energy and a different vibe,” she said. “But cats are really weird and awesome and really cool.”
Also, “You see dogs outside all the time,” Hersey said, but “it’s so much fun when you’re on a walk and you look over and there’s a little cat in the window.” Plus, Jadczak said, the neighborhood where the event will be has a number of free-roaming cats; when she and her husband moved there a few years ago, “We would name them, and they all have different personalities.”
After the parade (which will start and end at the same location), attendees will be able to get their faces painted, make cat masks, meet representatives – and possibly cats – from Dakin Humane Society, and speak to an on-site veterinarian. There will also be a costume contest with “best human” and “best cat” categories; winners will receive the “Golden Cat” award. The organizers are also considering a “best meow” contest.
As of this writing (more than a week before the parade itself), only a few cats are signed up, despite the strong interest, and Jadczak predicts there may be more people wanting to see cats than cats to be seen.
“What we’re finding is that people are really, really excited about this,” she said, “but it’s a little complicated because we have to get the cats in the homes on board.” (As Hersey pointed out, “You can’t force a cat to do anything.”)
Still, the two aren’t deterred – after all, the parade is only in its first year, so they’ll see how it shakes out. Jadczak expects it will very likely get bigger in the future, as Porchfest did after its first year: “Once we had the first event, people were like, ‘Oh, now I get it,’ and then it’s really easy to grow from there.”
In any case, they’re looking forward to using the opportunity to bring neighbors together around a fun commonality: “We’re the little city with a big heart, and people here are really cool. They are into a lot of different things, and there’s such a sense of community,” Jadczak said. “I’m really excited to be in community with other cat-loving people.”
“We’re really, I think, trying to tap into the artistic and organic nature of Easthampton’s community,” Jadczak said. “There’s a lot of people in this community who love art, love to come together, love weird things, showing up for different things that are not necessarily the normal Saturday afternoon routine.”
“We’re hoping,” she said, “that this will be a weird event, to say the least, in the best possible way.”
To register for the Cat Parade, search “Easthampton Cat Parade” on Facebook and click the Google Form link on the event page. For more information, visit instagram.com/easthamptoncatparade.
Carolyn Brown can be reached at cbrown@gazettenet.com.
