Dear Editor,

On Saturday, August 12, the Bizarre Cat Bazaar filled downtown Nederland with patrons who enjoyed fun performers, and a variety of vendors including cat rescue groups. There was amazing music, a Kissing & Hissing Booth, fortune tellers, balloon and face painting artists, and so much more! There were Kava and Mocktail drinks, this was a nonalcoholic event, and a few food vendors as my goal was to support our local establishments while providing an alcohol-free environment for all to enjoy.

I want to sincerely thank everyone who joined and supported me in this year one free bazaar. I would like to thank the Nederland Fire Department and Town of Nederland for assisting in filling the pool. I want to thank Ron Mitchell for the name “Bizarre Cat Bazaar,” for his support of my vision and use of his property. I want to thank Nicki and the Nederland Public Works team for providing the barriers and temporarily installing my Fred the Cat marker at her gravestone in front of Town Hall. Maybe we can get a permanent marker there with the George Blevins Mountain Ear cartoon.

I want to thank all my volunteers, Risi, Bee, Amanda, Brenda, Erica, Linda, Heather, Tanya, Corey, Wendy and John. They were awesome running the merchandise and mocktail booths, and judging the Cattastic Cat Contest; along with helping throughout the event to keep everything going smoothly, right down to cleanup. I would like to thank the Caribou Room, Peter, Mario, and Silas for the amazing stage and sound setup; not an easy task given the variety of performers and high energy Los Cheesies!

I want to thank The Diner Bar, Nederland, for sponsoring a portion of the Butterfly Slide and Pool, it was a big hit with families! Thank you to The Mountain-Ear for believing in and covering the BCB from day one! And thank Heather Taylor for her amazing artistic talent transforming the FDGD shed from Coffins to Cats; along with emceeing the Cattastic Cat Costume Contest. Our First Prize winner was Clary, the Crazy Cat Lady! Clary is seven years old and has been telling everyone about her big win!

I want to thank all my vendors and performers who supported this year one event; joined in the fun and am looking forward to Bizarre Cat Bazaar 2024!

If you’d like to donate to the Bizarre Cat Bazaar 2024, scan the QR code – who knows how bizarre it’ll be next year!

Thank YOU! It’s all about LOVE and FUN!

Cheers,

Deb D’Andrea

Nederland