Edmonton cat festival claws back for a fourth year

Purrfect cat festival A feline festival is aimed at all things cat and the people who loved them. CTV Edmonton’s Dez Melenka has the details.

If you’re a cat person, there’s only one place to be on May 26: MacEwan University for a feline frenzy.

Next Saturday at 9:00 a.m., the fourth annual Edmonton International Cat Festival kicks off at the Robbins Health Learning Centre.

This event has been put on since 2014 and has raised over $60,000 and every cent goes directly back to help support local rescue organizations.

Organizers said this festival is all about feline awareness.

Miranda Jordan-Smith, CEO of Edmonton Humane Society, said the weekend is all about cats, and the shelters have a lot of them.

“We take in about 8,000 animals a year. From that, roughly 5,000 are cats. Overpopulation is problem in our community,” she said.

The festival’s proceeds help local organizations battle the influx of cats.

The festival’s aim is to bring like-minded cat lovers together to immerse themselves in all things cats.

Linda Hoang, the festival's founder, said she is very excited about this year’s changes.

“It’s really cool to see how Edmontonians have really clawed on to the festival,” she said laughing. “It’s in a new location with new vendors and new activities.”

The festival will also feature two celebrity cats from social media: Nala the world’s most famous Instagram cat and her brother, Coffee.

“It’s a big celebration for cat people,” explained Hoang. “[The festival] creates a place where cat people can meet and just geek out about loving cats for a great cause.”

Tickets are $15 dollars in advance or $20 at the door and a full schedule of the day of cat-tivities can be found on their website.

With files from Dez Melenka