Cats, Cats, Cats, and the World’s Messiest Festivals

I love oddball festivals. One of my favorite memories of Belgium was the “Kattenstoet”, a festival held every 3 years in Ypres.

It supposedly commemorates a time in the 15th century when rats got out of hand in the Cloth Tower where woven goods created locally were stored before shipping. The town locked cats in the tower to combat the problem, but then, well, the cats (and their kittens) got out of hand. The answer (I was told) was for someone who drew the short straw to climb the Cloth Tower Belfry and throw the cats off the roof.

This gruesome moment in the feline history of the town has evolved into a cute, but quirky, festival. There is a cat themed parade full of adorable kids in cat or mouse costumes, what appears to be every high school band in Belgium, police dogs attacking men dressed as cats, etc. Then a crowd gathers under the Cloth Tower and a jester (I don’t know why it’s a jester, so don’t ask) tosses little stuffed cats down to the crowd.

My delight in the festival was marred by the sight of two grown men shoving a little girl who had caught one of the plush animals to the ground and wrenching the cat out of her hands. It was restored by three little old ladies who promptly shoved the men on their butts, twisted the stuffy out of one man’s hands, and returned it to the little girl.

 Jessica Spiegel at BootsNAll compiled a list of the World’s Messiest Festivals that includes the Tomato Fight in Buñol, Spain that I’ve wanted to experience for years, but oddly enough doesn’t mention Boryeong Mud Festival in Korea that I have also longed to see.

Obviously, I’ve been traveling too neatly, or not enough. I have never been to any of the 8 messy festivals Spiegel highlights.

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