September 21, 2008.
With hundreds of people in attendance eating and drinking the afternoon away (from cat decorated wine glasses, of course) the new children’s book A Very Smart Cat was introduced to a very feline obsessed crowd.
The event was the Cat’s Meow Auction and Gala where, beside the release of A Very Smart Cat/Una gata muy inteligente, 62 beautiful cat sculptures were auctioned. The proud owners, collectively, spent over $75,000 for the privilege of adopting the full litter and taking the colorful kitties to their new homes. Linda Overbaugh, director of the Heart of Catskill/Catskill Chamber of Commerce could not give us an accurate tally yet, but as of our last conversation, the above number could be dwarfed by the time the final figures are revealed . “I am still counting” she told us, with what sounded over the phone as a large Cheshire Cat smile.
The event was an overwhelming success with every item on the block, including the “flat cats” which had their own silent auction, finding an owner. Author Mario Picayo, and illustrator Yolanda Fundora signed books and talk to the never ending line of people stopping by their table.
Many of the advertisers whose real ads appear in the fictitious newspaper depicted in A Very Smart Cat, where seeing chatting with Mario and Yolanda. Larry Siracusano president of Sawyer Chevrolet, Tina Gagliardy owner of Mahalo, and Wayne from Imagine That among them. The food was great, the wine delicious, and we would have called the catering of the event perfect if it wasn’t for the absence of anything to drink beside water for those too young to enjoy the wines, or that simply don’t drink alcohol (no sodas or juices at all), and the early disappearance of the coffee and desserts. It would have been nice to have a sobering cup and a sweet something after spending a couple of thousand (or $5,800- the record for the evening), on one of the precious felines.
If you have followed the news about the book, then you know by now that the book has been adopted by Ulster and Greene counties (especially by Catskill/Athens/Saugerties and Woodstock) and that there are several events planned for the next couple of weeks with the very clever, and extremely mischievous pussygata (that’s cat in Spanish) as the star of the show.
On September 27 (that’s next Saturday) at 2 PM, as part of the “Read A Story” series, our dear friend Wayne and Lillian from Imagine That Ceramics shop, in Catskill will unveil four collector’s plates depicting illustrations from A Very Smart Cat. Guests to the event will be invited to paint the plates, and create their own masterpieces. Lillian glazes and fires the plates and a week later you take home your creation. Author Mario Picayo will join the event and read the very funny children’s book to those attending. For more information, visit imaginethatceramics.com.
We don’t want to flood you with too much information, so we will leave the rest of the announcements for next time. Enjoy the pictures.
Click here to view the album.
This is true for most teens, and with the integration of social-networking apps on today’s phones, the cell phone has become more of a handheld laptop that’s capable of five or six different ways for teens to communicate.
