A 7-year-old lady hawks cat-themed souvenirs in Flemish outdoors her mother and father’ store. Two ladies in matching cat print attire wander down a crowded avenue on the lookout for a spot to purchase stuffed plush kitties. In each retailer and restaurant window, a cat figurine or statue indicators allegiance to the feline persuasion.
That is Kattenstoet, Belgium’s cat-themed parade and competition.
Tucked amongst rolling farmland within the West Flanders area close to the border with France, Iepers, Belgium, has not at all times had such an adoring relationship with cats. Within the Center Ages, when the town’s primary trade was fabric making, they used cats to maintain wool warehouses freed from mice and different vermin. However when the felines started reproducing too shortly, city officers developed a ghastly answer: In the course of the second week of Lent, on “Cat Wednesday,” cats had been tossed to their deaths out of the belfry tower onto the city sq. under. On the time, the animals had been seen as a logo of witchcraft and evil, so their deaths had been celebrated.
The final reside cat was thrown in 1817, however Ieper (additionally known as Ypres in French) developed Kattenstoet in 1937, a practice to each acknowledge the town’s grotesque historical past and have fun cats. The parade, which was held on Sunday, Could 12, is stuffed with elaborate floats, costumes and performances. Afterward, an individual dressed as a jester tosses stuffed animal cats from the belfry, right down to the onlookers under.
This 12 months’s occasion was an enormous deal as a result of the competition, which takes place each three years, had a brief halt attributable to Covid, so it was the primary Kattenstoet since 2018. Based on organizers, this 12 months’s occasion was anticipated to draw greater than 50,000 cat fans from all around the world.
One lady, carrying cat ears whereas sitting on the curb consuming a Belgian waffle, mentioned she had traveled from Tokyo to catch the parade. One other, who recognized herself as Beth from Northamptonshire, England, mentioned she’d grown up coming to Iepers along with her household to go to the British struggle memorials, however this was her first time attending Kattenstoet. Although she solely owns one cat, a Maine Coon named Kimber, she has him and 6 of her former feline associates tattooed on her left arm.
Some Kattenstoet floats inform the story of the historical past of Iepers, whereas others depict cat worship in historical past or popular culture. (There may be, after all, a large Garfield float.) The costumes are a mix of selfmade and professionally sewn, and the contributors’ enthusiasm at this 12 months’s parade was infectious: Everybody, from the elementary faculty kids marching with their dance troupes to adults using on floats, was dedicated to the bit. Marching bands, drum corps and different musical performances scored the present, which lasted for practically three hours on an unseasonably heat day.
Dan Baxter, a police officer, and Sarah Carlson, a nurse, deliberate their trip from Philadelphia to Iepers to see the parade. “I believe we discovered about it from a bizarre Instagram reel, and we’re like, ‘Is that this actual?’” Ms. Carlson mentioned. “After which we researched it and had been like, ‘Oh, we’re going.’”
The couple left their very own 4 cats with a military of cat sitters, and made their approach to Belgium. Mr. Baxter, who proudly sports activities two cat tattoos, wore an Eagles hat and a T-shirt emblazoned with the phrases “MILF: Man I Love Felines.”
Produced by Christy Harmon
