A 7-year-old lady hawks cat-themed souvenirs in Flemish outdoors her dad and mom’ store. Two girls in matching cat print attire wander down a crowded avenue in search of a spot to purchase stuffed plush kitties. In each retailer and restaurant window, a cat figurine or statue alerts allegiance to the feline persuasion.
That is Kattenstoet, Belgium’s cat-themed parade and pageant.
Tucked amongst rolling farmland within the West Flanders area close to the border with France, Iepers, Belgium, has not all the time had such an adoring relationship with cats. Within the Center Ages, when the town’s principal 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 resolution: In the course of the second week of Lent, on “Cat Wednesday,” cats have been tossed to their deaths out of the belfry tower onto the city sq. under. On the time, the animals have been seen as an emblem of witchcraft and evil, so their deaths have been celebrated.
The final stay cat was thrown in 1817, however Ieper (additionally referred to as Ypres in French) developed Kattenstoet in 1937, a practice to each acknowledge the town’s ugly historical past and rejoice cats. The parade, which was held on Sunday, Might 12, is crammed 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 a giant deal as a result of the pageant, which takes place each three years, had a short lived halt as a result of Covid, so it was the primary Kattenstoet since 2018. In keeping with organizers, this 12 months’s occasion was anticipated to draw greater than 50,000 cat fanatics from everywhere in the world.
One girl, sporting 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 together with her household to go to the British warfare 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 mates 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 mixture of selfmade and professionally sewn, and the contributors’ enthusiasm at this 12 months’s parade was infectious: Everybody, from the elementary college youngsters marching with their dance troupes to adults driving 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 realized about it from a bizarre Instagram reel, and we’re like, ‘Is that this actual?’” Ms. Carlson mentioned. “After which we researched it and have been like, ‘Oh, we’re going.’”
The couple left their very own 4 cats with a military of cat sitters, and made their method 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
