|
On Sunday there is musical entertainment
in the city center, and roaming troubadours play their fiddles and dance in
the street:
 
All the shops are ready for
the tourists with all types of catty things, and have decorated their
windows and buildings with cat images:
 
 
 
 
Even the Town Hall, the tower
from which the cats are thrown at the end, has paper mache cats scampering
up the side:
The parade started at 2 pm
with the “publicity caravan”; sponsors of the festival –
what’s a show without a commercial or two? They were very entertaining and tossed
samples of their goods or candy to the crowd. At the 3 pm, the 41st Cats
Parade starts. The parade consisted
of 6 ‘sections’: 1)
Introduction; 2) the history of cat worship, including the cat in Egypt,
the Celtic cat, and the Medieval Tomcat; 3) Ypres, a Historical City; 4)
the cat in language and legend; 5) the cat around the world; and 6) the cat
from Ypres. Interspersed are flag
bearers, marching bands, and various ‘cats’ of all sizes,
walking the street. Of the many,
many floats, here are some of my favorites:
 
The Egyptian Cat:
 
The Medieval Cat:
While the cats’ away,
the mice will play:
Cats
Around the World:
The Wise TomCat:
Garfield arrives:
The Flemish “Musti” cat:
Giant Cieper
shows off his new outfit:
Minneke Poes:
Minneke Poes with
her husband, Giant Cieper, are the ambassadors of
Ypres cat city, and are the icons of the town; hence, their appearance
represents the end of the parade.
|
