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| Ypres Cats Festival |
The Ypres Cats Festival takes place every three years in the
heart of the city in Belgium. The next one, for the 43th time, will be held on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 of May 2012.
The many Festival activities make this weekend an
interesting one to attend. The Ypres Cats Festival takes place every three
years in the heart of the city. The feature of the Festival is the contemporary
parade brimming with Ypres history. The Cat
Parade is a whirling spectacle with floats, giants, music groups, theatre and
quite obviously a very large number of ‘cats’.
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| Ypres Cats Festival |
Every three years since 1955, the residents of this Belgian
town have celebrated the cat by transforming themselves into human-sized
felines for a festival weekend that includes art, music, folklore activities
and the parade. But it’s a wonder Ypres’ cats haven’t let loose with this wild
side before, considering their tragic history in Belgium.
The story didn’t begin so grim. In fact, legend has it that
in pagan times, a giant statue of a cat god stood where the Cloth Hall in the
town center now is located. But this cat adoration turned to fear when the
locals converted to Christianity and the once-honored figure was transformed
into a symbol of the devil.
It was all downhill after that. Throughout the Middle Ages
in Europe, the cat was associated with witches
and demons, suffering a list of atrocities too numerous to mention. And Ypres’ populace was no kinder.
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| Ypres Cats Festival |
The town’s history records show that a cat festival was
celebrated in the 15th century, closely related to the Ash Wednesday fair. But
this event was no fun for felines. The highlight involved the town jester
hurling live animals out of high towers, an act that symbolized the exorcism of
demons. At some point, this tossing was officially transferred to the Cloth Tower
belfry.
Unfortunately, this flinging of felines lasted for
centuries. It wasn’t until 1817, according to a 19th-century Ypres
archivist, that the last cats were thrown and the pitiless practice was banned.
Since its earlier days, the Cat Festival parade has grown,
this year so much that part of it will be on Saturday, May 13, starting at 8:30
p.m. This shorter spectacle will feature the sections about the city’s history
and the witch trials. “It’s sort of an introduction to the larger one,” Martens
said.
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| Ypres Cats Festival |
On Sunday at 3 p.m., the cats break loose for the grand
procession. The wild cats join the traditional cast of cat characters: Cieper,
wife Minneke Poes and their kitten, Piepertje, towering above the crowd. Exotic
Egyptian cats ride in painted boats carrying Egyptian worshippers to the cat
sanctuary in the town of Bubastis.
Giant wild cats draw the German goddess Freya in her heavenly carriage. Black
cats curl around their witch companions.
Cats from the musical “Cats” dance along the route. Other
felines march in formation and ride horses in a cat cavalry, hiss and spring
into the crowd and schmooze with the audience. Litters of kittens prance among
the adults.
At the end, the jester arrives on his float in a flurry of
confetti to ascend the steps of the Cloth Hall’s 230-foot belfry and carry out
the traditional tossing of the cats — using plush animals. In former years,
these toys were filled with money, but the practice was discontinued when the
fights among the scrambling crowds got too wild. “Humans call this fighting wild?” the Ypres
cats must have said in disbelief. No ears back? No snarls? No extended claws?
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| Ypres Cats Festival |
So once again the town’s felines will hold a colorful parade
and show these people how to do it right in Belgium’s “capital of cats.”
Ticket sale for the stands starts from 16th February. Free
access to the route. Click here for
tickets. Ticket price for stands: Market
Square: 20 euro per ticket, Station/other stands:
15 euro per ticket
When: From Saturday 12 and Sunday and 13 May
2012
Saturday 12 May - beginning at 2 p.m., children can
join a mouse treasure hunt along the city ramparts. Information is in the Cloth
Hall. In the evening, the first parade begins at 8:30.
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| Ypres Cats Festival |
Sunday 13 May - the parade begins at 3 p.m. It’s best
to arrive early, however, not only to get a closer parking spot but also to
enjoy the atmosphere, which includes listening to folklore music, drinking
Belgian beer, getting your face painted like a cat’s and buying cat souvenirs.
- the throwing of the cats is at approximately 6 p.m. At 7 the
“witches” are burned, and at 10 fireworks finish off the evening.
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