Catmobilers: More Midwest fun??!!!

[phesina]

As if we aren't already busy enough... let's see...

Canada Day, July 1 in Hamilton, Ontario!
More Chicago baseball!..
U.S. Independence Day, July 4, where, Chicago???
In other words, a long weekend with bagpipes playing to Fireworks!!!!!
What more?....

Now the World-Renowned Feline Pipers and Dancer have been invited to be the featured STAR performers at the Saline Celtic Festival, next Friday and Saturday, July 8-9...

From the web site (http://www.salineceltic.org/):
"Join us for one of the most anticipated Celtic festivals in southeast Michigan! Just 45 minutes from downtown Detroit, Saline Michigan hosts 2 days of Celtic music and dance entertainment, workshops, sporting events, and much more for the whole family!"

This festival draws bagpipers and Celtic dancers from all around the world (well, all around Michigan, anyway)!

Events include a Highland Dance Competition (now, doesn't this have Sparkler's name written all over it?) and several piping concerts and competitions.. not to mention jousting competitions, a herding dog demonstration, a waulking (?) demonstration.. AND ... the 5th Annual "Mr. Pretty Legs in Kilt" Competition!!!!!



The festival normally takes place at Mill Pond Park in Saline. However, what with the expected crowd surge for the Feline Bagpipers and Dancer, arrangements have been made to have the Feliners perform in the University of Michigan Stadium (capacity 109,901 humans and who knows how many cats?.. [in case of overflow, additional facilities with giant-screen broadcast will be provided at Crisler Arena next door])!!!

Come one, come all!!!!!! Let us know when and where the Catmobile will be picking you up!

[cassiesmom]

Cassie can take Amtrak up to Detroit on Friday. Will that work?

[momcat]

Hmmmm, could this be why our Quartet and dancer have been borrowing our CDs and asking for sheet music?

The festival sounds like a lot of fun. Will the Haggis In A Hurry Shoppe have a stand there?

Groucho has a case in Cat Court today so there's no way of knowing when he'll be done. I'm sure he'll be on his cell phone with Inka then with Pinot and Cassie as soon as he sees this.

[phesina]

Cassie can take Amtrak up to Detroit on Friday. Will that work?

Cassie, the train from Chicago to Detroit stops in Ann Arbor on the way! Why don't you get off there, and you can hang out with us while the Artistes rehearse.. Won't that be fun? We would love to have you here!

On Friday we can then go with the Catmobile to pick up all the kitties coming into Detroit from around the world. Then it's off to Saline!

[phesina]

Hmmmm, could this be why our Quartet and dancer have been borrowing our CDs and asking for sheet music?

The festival sounds like a lot of fun. Will the Haggis In A Hurry Shoppe have a stand there?

Groucho has a case in Cat Court today so there's no way of knowing when he'll be done. I'm sure he'll be on his cell phone with Inka then with Pinot and Cassie as soon as he sees this.

Of course the Haggis in a Hurry Shoppe will have a stand at the Festival! And not only that, they will be doing the concessions at Michigan Stadium for the Bagpipes and Dancer performance!

[catmandu]

The Found Cats are so pleased that so many Pets and Pet Angels could make it to the Kings Buffet!!:love::love:
I got a dozen Chicken Wings to go so all can share in your bcak yrad.
:cool::cool:
We are All Looking Forward to a Great Fourth of July as you Americans can really Party Hardy!!
YAHHOOOOO!
:):):)

[cassiesmom]

Cassie, the train from Chicago to Detroit stops in Ann Arbor on the way! Why don't you get off there, and you can hang out with us while the Artistes rehearse.. Won't that be fun? We would love to have you here!

On Friday we can then go with the Catmobile to pick up all the kitties coming into Detroit from around the world. Then it's off to Saline!

That will work great! I'll send her with samples from Taste of Chicago in her blue bag.

[katladyd]

Just got a text from the boys: Having a great time! Will be home in few days. Have a Happy 4th!

Well, as long as they're having a good time.....:rolleyes:

[phesina]

The Found Ctas are so pleased that so many Pets and Pet Angels could make it to the Kings Buffet!!:love::love:
I got a dozen Chicken Wings to go so all can share in your bcak yrad.
:cool::cool:
We are All Looking Forward to a Great Fourth of July as you Americans can really Party Hardy!!
YAHHOOOOO!
:):):)

My gang are having SUCH a great time in Hamilton celebrating Catada Day! Sydney in particular is so happy to be spending the holiday weekend with his beloved Scrappy 2 in PURRSON :love::love::love:!

Next it's on to Chicago for the 4th, isn't it? When are the other baseball games?

[phesina]

That will work great! I'll send her with samples from Taste of Chicago in her blue bag.

Excellent! We are all looking forward to Cassie's arrival and sampling some Tastes of Chicago.

Any other kitties who'd like to hang out in Ann Arbor with us before the Saline Celtic Festival are welcome to come visit, too! We're all sure Meowmie can come up with whatever food and accommodations are needed.

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[Pinot's Mom]

So much for my telling Pinot she HAD to be home on the Fourth!!:rolleyes:

[phesina]

We all had a ball in Chicago, the pipers playing the Star Spangled Banner and Sparkler dancing as spectacular fireworks exploded in the sky.

We can't wait to welcome all our friends again for the Saline Celtic Festival this weekend! And any of you who want to come early, as Cassie is doing, are welcome to stay here and hang out with us. There is plenty of room for you all and plenty of food on hand (we are sure Meowmie will take care of all that as needed).

Do let us know when and where the Catmobile should be picking you up.. it will of course be making the rounds of Detroit Metropolitan Airport and all the train stations along the Chicago-Detroit route and farther...

[cassiesmom]

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=168509

Dear Catmobile Kitties -- My meowmom would like to know if you could please ask your humans to think a good thought for this kitty and Malibu's Mom, who she picked to be her food lady, maternity nurse and guardian for right now. Malibu's Mom had a kitty come to her porch. Turns out she is pregnant. She was hungry, and Malibu's Mom gave her food and water and took her to the d-o-c. Now she is inside Malibu's Mom's house vs. still on the porch.

I don't know what Malibu or her siblings think of the guest kitty. But she is going to be a mommy cat, she needed their meowmie's help and she got it. Cassie had a litter of kittens before I adopted her, and a family did much the same thing for her and the kittens. So -- could you all please have your people think a good thought, or maybe say a prayer that everything will go okay with the birth, and that the kitties will go to loving homes afterward. My meowmom thinks kitties should have a chance of going to forever homes. Or at least living at shelters where they may be petted, loved on, played with and cared about by the staff and volunteers. This mommy cat to be is a PT Kitty for now, so we appreciate all of you joining in for this.

Thank you Purrs and Head Bumpies, and soft mews...
Cassie Cat and Elyse

[katladyd]

I sure will, guys! I read Malibu Mom's post and I am sending up prayers and good wishes for this little lady and her babies. The boys texted me that they are thinking of her, too. :love:

[phesina]

I read Malibu Mom's post too, and my gang and I are all saying our prayers and sending out our good wishes and warm energies for a safe and comfortable birth for the babies and wonderful loving homes for them all.

The pipers and dancer plan to dedicate their Saline Celtic Festival performance to the well-being of these kitties.

[catmandu]

We Found Cats have heard that there are some great American Style Buffets in the Mid West!!
:cool::cool::cool:
We love the Kings Buffet ,but the thought of steaks, roasts and fried chicken is a real turn on!!
:love::love::love:
We can hardly wait!!!
:love::love::love:

[phesina]

There is lots of Haggis at the Celtic Festival! ... catered by the Haggis in a Hurry Shoppe, of course.

[momcat]

Never fear, Cassie! Many prayers are being prayed for this new kitty family to have a bright future with nothing less than a purrfect furever home filled with love, care, and all the good things every kitty deserves.

Auntie Momcat and Groucho

[phesina]

Today is the day for the concert by the Bagpipers and Scottish Dancer for the Saline Celtic Festival!

The concert is being held at the University of Michigan Stadium, as the expected attendance is more than the entire town of Saline could hold. The stadium often is filled to capacity (109,901 humans) for big football games (e.g., Michigan State, Ohio State), but this event may break all attendance records. Already the streets are congested and traffic is backed up for miles .. Interstate 94, US-23, Interstate 75, Interstate 96, Provincial Route 401 in Ontario are stop and go...

And the cats! The streets are a sea of cats! .. like waves of fur floating in the breeze..

The Catmobile will of course get a special motorcycle escort through right to the stadium, where the cats will all be whisked straight up to the luxury sky-boxes.

[momcat]

Thanks for the update, Pat. That must really be something to see, especially all of those sweet kitties along the streets! I'm sure our PT Kitty Bagpipe Quartet and Scottish Dancer will again wow the crowd.

With a crowd that large I'm wondering if the Haggis In A Hurry Shoppe will have enough haggis for everyone.

[phesina]

This was a Saline Celtic Festival finale for the ages!

Attendance exceeded all expectations. Not only was the entire stadium filled to capacity.. not only was the overflow-crowd site Crisler Arena filled to capacity.. the golf course clubhouse across the street had to be opened to hold the rest of the crowds. And sports bars with giant TV screens all over Ann Arbor did a booming business.

Cats arrived from all over the country.. the continent.. the world! In the Cats section of the stadium, the Kitty Wave was performed many times. Starting at the very top, all the cats in that row would arch their backs, hiss, then settle back down, as the cats in the next row all arched, hissed, and settled, and so on down the rows to the very first one. A furry wave traveled down the rows from top to bottom as a massive "SSSSSSSSSsssssssss!!!!" filled the air.

And the performance!.. The pipers and dancer dedicated the show to the expectant-kitty family being cared for by Malibu's Mom, reminding the audience that all kitties deserve loving care.

Then, in appreciation of their hosts, they did a phenomenal bagpipe rendition of the University of Michigan fight song, "Hail to the Victors," as Sparkler did her own version of a victory dance. Surely all the Michigan athletic teams will do better than ever in coming months!

They then did an international round, first with "O Canada" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" after the recent national holidays, then "La Marseillaise" for Bastille Day, "God Save the Queen" in honor of the Royal visit to North America, and the national anthem for South Sudan, the country which just came into being yesterday. Then they went right into "Scotland the Brave."

They performed their classic hits, including their chart-busting cover of "Stairway to Heaven," as well as several recent additions to their repertoire: "Light My Fire," ""The Devil Went Down to Georgia," "Bad to the Bone," "Muskrat Love.."

They were exhausted after all the standing ovations and encores they were called upon to perform!

The upper management in the Haggis in a Hurry Shoppe World Headquarters assured me that they were up to catering the event. They had hired additional help and were working 24-7 for weeks leading up to today. The concession stands all had plenty of haggis and Glenfiddich, so no one, human or cat, had to go hungry or thirsty!

[momcat]

WOW! The festival must have been off the charts fantastic! I could see the kitty wave in my mind, the hoomin attendees must have been wondering why so many cute kitties were there. The Haggis In A Hurry Shoppe really had things covered, they can cater anything no matter the size of the crowd! Groucho has suggested a few times that I hire them when Soncat gets his degree from college.

How thoughtful of the Quartet and Dancer to dedicate their performance to Malibu's mommycat-in-waiting. But knowing them, I'm not surprised they did that. Groucho the Lawyer is working on the details for a concert to benefit no-kill shelters though no date or location has been set yet.

[dehlers43]

Text from Franklin:
We were great - now I'm tired. Want to come home. Have treats ready.

Voice mail message from Chelsea:
"Ming ming ming ming
Ming ming ming ming
Ming ming ming ming ming ming ming ming...."

Sung to the tune of the Meow Mix song......:rolleyes:

[Pinot's Mom]

"Muskrat Love"??:eek:

Don't know about that one...

[phesina]

Especially on bagpipes!

[cassiesmom]

Could this be true? Another request for an appearance by the PT pipers and dancers?! I heard Cassie murmuring into her phone, but all I caught was "Ohio", "August", "haggis" and "bagpipes". I'm curious! She's got a few weeks to stay home and be good before she heads out with her Catmobile friends again ;)

http://www.dublinirishfestival.org/
Dublin, Ohio Irish Festival August 5-7

It is near Ohio State University, which has a big football stadium .... hummm...

[phesina]

Well now, this sounds like something right up their alley..

I was wondering why Sparkler was saying now she's learning Irish step dancing!

I don't know if Haggis in a Hurry has a shoppe there.. but then, the Irish don't do haggis anyway. That's strictly a Scottish delicacy.

[phesina]

Incidentally, Sydney, Bob, and Sparkler (all proud University of Michigan Ph.D., Mus. alumni/ae) have informed me that while they will be glad to put on their show in the Ohio State stadium if their public demands it, they WILL NOT perform the Ohio State fight song! ..Michigan and Ohio State are arch-rivals on the football field, and the cats are all big football fans.

[katladyd]

Ming wants the gang to learn the USC fight song. I told him he's have to ask nicely! Sometimes it gets so loud in here with him practicing that I wish he had taken up the harp! Mac and Kimba say the Pipers and their Dancer are something to see. I will take their word for it. Ming just loves his bagpipes!:love:

[phesina]

The USC fight song sounds good to my gang. Now, who is their arch-rival, and what thoughts on this selection does fellow-Californian piper Franklin have?

[phesina]

Harps are really big in Ireland! Ming might want to consider taking it up.

Also, Irish bagpipes are different from Scottish ones, so there may be a number of new instruments added to the repertoire.

[dehlers43]

I think USC's main rival is UCLA....:D

Franklin is a USC fan.....their mascot is Traveler the horsie!

Chels doesn't care as long as she and Sophie can have matching pompoms....:rolleyes:

[phesina]

A horsie mascot? Well, in that case, the USC fight song is a MUST-HAVE addition to the show!

And Chelsea and Sophie will be the cheerleaders?!!!