Embracing Nederland’s “cat-itude”: Bazaar organizer Deb D’Andrea (left) with Shawn Camden of event headliners Los Cheesies shooting a promo music video.[/caption]

In fact, wearing an animal-themed onesie and parading ecstatically through town should very much be considered a Nederland pastime. Thankfully there’s someone who sees that same desire from the community to embrace the mystery, the weirdness, the cat-itude, and is willing to make their vision a reality.

That person is Deb D’Andrea, and that vision is the Bizarre Cat Bazaar.

If you break down each word of the event independently you get a perfect vision of what this new kind of street fair is intended to be.

“Bizarre” is definitely a word that out-of-towners might use to describe some of Nederland’s unique history and charismatic locals, and some of the businesses and people in town are certainly not shy in leaning into the stereotype, if not wearing the moniker proudly on their sleeves, right below their hearts.

The “Cat” in question is Nederland’s own Fred the Cat, a vagabond tabby cat that was well known by members of the community from 1972 to 1989. Fred’s grave, located in front of Nederland Town Hall, refers to the famous feline as the “Legend of First Street.” However, Fred is also known as the “Honorary Mayor of Nederland.”

“The story goes, from my understanding, that town folk were disheartened with individuals running for office. So instead of “settling,” they hand-wrote Fred the Cat as Mayor and Fred won!” D’Andrea says.

A “Bazaar” was what the Persians called their town’s central marketplace, which was traditionally located in covered streets and consisted of various small stalls of vendors selling their goods. For the residents of Middle Eastern and South Asian cities and towns shopping at the souk or bazaar daily is the way of life.

Bazaars became more known in the West in the 19th century but when adopted were more like open street markets, though the idea of the bazaar being the throbbing heart of culture still rang true, especially in early immigrant hubs like New York City.

“In my mind’s eye I see a Thailand Bazaar meets Burning Man,” D’Andrea enthusiastically explains. “With that said, it’s a tall order for a year one, new concept.”

But D’Andrea is not one to back down from a tall order. With the help of some close friends with some amazing talents, D’Andrea is organizing an extremely grassroots effort in order to break the mold of area events and is already elbows deep into plywood, Styrofoam, glue, and cotton balls, crafting her cute and curious characters.

“The large cats I’ve designed are constructed out of plywood, insulation sheets, construction glue, pillow stuffing, faux fur and lots of creative juices from my brain,” D’Andrea details. “I made the noses from Styrofoam balls I cut in half, painted glue on and rolled in pink sand for texture. I used striped pipe cleaners for whiskers, and fun eyes to round out the look.”

“I’m creating each Cat carefully by hand, and building them out in my ‘free’ time. Welcome to my brain! The creative juices are flowing and I’m having a hoot creating these cats; but it’s seriously a lot of work for one person.”

D’Andrea’s can-do spirit was infused in her at a young age, and she has carried that spirit with her throughout a career in team management. From working in the high-tech field as a Director of Technical Support and Quality Assurance, to organizing music festivals and designing major storefront renovations in her spare time, D’Andrea is more than familiar with working under pressure.

“Managing large projects with lots of moving parts, quicksand, unknowns, deadlines, compromise, and communicating to teams of over 1,300 people is totally in my wheelhouse,” D’Andrea says.

“I started doing festivals years ago, working with Major League Baseball as a consultant and recreating Cooperstown with multiple stages, acts, actors, actresses, performers, stage managing, wrangling, really tackling pretty much anything that needed to be tackled. We had upwards of 300,000 attendees throughout the event area...in a day. It was an amazing learning experience.”

For D’Andrea, something like the Bizarre Cat Bazaar may be at a much smaller scale than 300,000 attendees, however it is a totally new concept, going against the grain from what is typically expected from a Peak to Peak event.

“This is not your average event. It’s free and Risi & Friends will be serving Mocktails! No alcohol, which everyone thinks I’m crazy for, but I’m like “hold my mocktail,” D’Andrea laughs before adding: “If you want an adult beverage, please visit our local businesses!”

The road to getting to the Bazaar has been a long one, with the original inception of the concept dating back to five years ago.

“Several years ago a friend came to me with the idea, but my father and soul mate dog, Tiki, both passed away late 2018. Creating this Bazaar from scratch was too much for me to take on at that time, so I bowed out,” D’Andrea explains.

“Then, in 2022, I finally wrapped up my father’s estate, took the summer to breathe, and contacted my friend saying I felt I could take it on and run with it.”

From there D’Andrea put boots to the ground and began searching for talent, for vendors, and for a team of volunteers in order to bring this dream to fruition.

“Originally I reached out to a variety of places and people, like Meow Wolf, to help create the environment in my vision for the Bazaar, but sadly they were unable to assist. So, when you can’t get help do it yourself…because why not!”

Creating such a brand new concept in Nederland can be difficult when public opinion on the Town’s handling of special events has soured after the loss of such beloved festivals like Frozen Dead Guy Days and NedFest. The Town of Nederland’s Nederdays festival held in March was a moderate success. However there were concerns raised by business owners about having to organize and manage their own events for the festival.

D’Andrea hopes that such gray clouds won’t loom over her very different, very original event; however, she notes that she has reached out to several community organizations, from TEENS, Inc. to Wild Bear Nature Center, to participate in the Bazaar but neither of them have signed up yet.

“Many organizations state they don’t have the bandwidth to host a booth, which I appreciate. I am open to organizations having booths, and if they’re a non-profit I don’t charge.”

“My booths only cost $50. With a handful of locals signing up as vendors already, which I totally appreciate as I know it’s a busy time of year, I want to make this affordable for everyone,” D’Andrea says.

Along with a plucky team of kitty fanatics for volunteers, D’Andrea is ramping up her production for the event, scheduling the attractions and entertainment and continuing to make all of the cat-themed decorations for the Bazaar at her home in Nederland.

“It takes a lot to fulfill this one year vision and I’m looking forward to building a great team doing Bizarre Bazaars!” D’Andrea excitedly spoke about those who stepped up to help spread joy in the community.

“An awesome behind-the-scenes friend, Cat, her appropriate nick name considering, is wrangling several professional acts. Cat is tightly interwoven with amazing international performers and artists, and is a dear friend.”

“Amazing people like Shawn Camden of Los Cheesies have stepped up to help me, going way above and beyond! He’s a total goofball who loves the whole concept; he wrote a Bizarre Cat Bazaar jingle and is doing a video to boot,” D’Andrea adds.

“I am more than grateful for everyone’s assistance and want to give a shout out to Nichole Sterling! I am fortunate to have touched base with her as she is the creator of the amazing Fred the Cat icon! Not only is she great on the BOT, but she has a fabulous creative talent that I’m thrilled she shared with the Bazaar.”

As for what kind of original entertainment one should expect from an idea so fresh and strange, the possibilities are truly endless when it comes to staging such a gloriously odd event. D’Andrea and the Bazaar crew have planned something ambitious with an emphasis on having FUN.

“There will be a big water feature that will fill the majority of the back parking area where the Farmers Market is. The talent kicks off around 11 a.m. with our own Angela Delsanter kicking off the event with her stilt walking Cat Act! Following that is the Xae Alejando Rios Troop, a world traveling drumming troop who will be on stage from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Join the FUN as they lead the midday Cat Parade!”

“Throughout the event there will be various artists including Quill, a nationally known and gifted Balloon Clown who will be sharing her art with everyone, along with her associate who’ll be Face Painting all those whiskers and smiles!”

“Our beloved Los Cheesies will be following at 2:30 p.m., with cat outfits, cat songs and cat-tastic energy to continue dancing to. But don’t miss this; between the morning and afternoon performances is the Cat-tastic Cat Costume Contest, emceed by our very own Heather Taylor-Lande! First prize is $500!”

D’Andrea will also be setting up a “Photo Op” booth for people to take pictures with her custom-made and specially designed Cats, which will also be auctioned off to help pay for the free event, covering the costs of the performers, musicians, and others involved in putting together the Bazaar.

“I have asked for zero financial assistance from Town Hall, the Nederland Downtown Development Authority, or businesses. I have heard Jesse of The Train Cars is doing ‘Catpurrrchinos’ and Carrie of Tres Gringos is doing ‘Cataritas.’”

“Everyone should have fun with this. Dress up as a cat and join in the goofiness. We can’t wait to share this Bazaar with you; join us and be amazed!”

The Bizarre Cat Bazaar will take place on Saturday, August 12, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information visit: https://bizarrecatbazaar.com

Interested in volunteering? Visit: http:// tinyurl.com/BCBVolunteers.

Interested in being a vendor? Visit: http://tinyurl.com/BCBVendors.