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Bahrain’s first-ever cat festival, Meow Day 2017 at the outdoor pavillion in Adhari Park proved to be a purr-fect occasion for pet lovers across the kingdom.
Friday’s festival, which was sponsored by Lulu Hypermarket and Wafflemeister, attracted around 2,000 visitors, who were treated to feline-themed activities such as a Prettiest Kitteh pageant and a cat trivia quiz with prizes.
One surprise was a ‘kitty race’ which was later revealed to be a ‘kiddy race’ allowing children in cat ears to race against each other, and later on, a three-minute race for actual cats was staged allowed one pampered pussy to comfortably walk to the finish line.
“Bahrain has several dog shows, but there was nothing for cats, which we felt was unfair,” said co-organiser Mohammed Hassan, founder of 1844 PR, a Bahrain-based consultancy, who set up the event in collaboration with Directions PR and Events.
“The overwhelmingly positive response just proves that we have no shortage of cat lovers in the country.”
More than 30 cats took part in the pageant where a panel of judges factored qualities such as ‘name’, ‘neatness’, and ‘personality’ into the results.
Atlas Augustus van Slupsk, who boasts his own Facebook page and is owned by Svetlana Mezler and her fiance Matteus Jakubowski, proved to be the cat’s whiskers winning first place, followed by Garfield and Logan who were placed second and third respectively.
Bahrain Rescues, a group of active animal rescuers in the kingdom, were also present at the festival with a number of rescued cats, all of whom were adopted at the festival.
“The primary objective of this event was to educate people that cats make wonderful pets, and to encourage them to adopt cats, particularly rescue cats,” Amy Vaya, one of the event co-organisers added. “We are extremely pleased that all the rescue cats brought to the festival have been found good homes.”
Lulu Hypermarket, the title sponsor of the event, showcased its range of specialty cat food, accessories, and grooming products. Dr Nonie Coutts Veterinary Surgery, Advanced Veterinary Clinic and Pets Cabana exhibited their pet products and services at the festival, while several artists offered visitors the chance of drawing their cats and sold other cat-themed arts and crafts.
Bahrain Writers’ Circle, a group of local writers and poets, provided custom-made cat verses and short stories on request from owners, two of which are featured on these pages, and children had their faces painted as cats.
The Hive, Bahrain’s first ‘hacker’ space, demonstrated to visitors the capabilities of 3D printing, which include producing prosthetics for cats that have lost their legs.
Several other vendors were also present at the event.
“We are thrilled to connect with so many cat lovers, and we are already planning bigger and better things for next year’s festival. We are looking for a much bigger venue, with lots more rescue cats, more categories for the cat pageant, more events for cats and kids and loads more prizes,” added co-organiser Puja Tiwari, head of business development at Directions PR.
For more information about Meow Day, you can follow them on Instagram: @meowdaybh or visit their Facebook page: fb.com/meowdaybh
