Every spring, a whopping 11,000 music fans cram together into the small space that we know as the Walker Art Center Garden (in fact, it’s just a grassy hill behind the museum) to attend The Current and the Walker’s Rock the Garden. One might think that Rock the Garden is the garden’s main popular event, but on August 30th, 2012, Rock the Garden was almost beat.
And by what? Cats. You heard me, cats. The Walker presented the First Annual International Internet Cat Video Festival. On that Thursday evening under a beautiful full moon, 10,000 cat-fanatics sat down and watched a video of the best cats on the internet (as chosen by the public).
Some of the videos included “Nyan Cat”, “Kittens Inspired by Kittens”, and “Keyboard Cat”, while some unique and unseen videos were played as well. “Cat-egories” of the festival included drama, comedy and foreign. The festival coordinator, Katie Czarniecki Hill, thought of the idea herself. Cat videos, normally watched on youtube alone, and sometimes even shamefully, were played to the public all at once. Would people still laugh, cry, and “aww” at the purrfect little critters on screen in front of other people, or should cat videos be watched in solace for the rest of eternity? Considering the turnout, I truly believe that cat videos can be watched in any setting. Check out the #1 video here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q34z5dCmC4M&feature=player_embedded