Congratulations, Internet: You have once again changed the world, although we’re not exactly sure whether this change is for the greater good. The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis has officially announced that it would once again hold the celebration of the online obsession for cute, grumpy, and otherwise noteworthy felines with the second Internet Cat Video Festival this August.
The Walker Center’s first Internet Cat Video Festival took place last summer, conceived – in the Center’s own words – as “a modest celebration to bring online communities together in the real world” that ended up… well, slightly less modest. More than 10,000 people showed up to Walker’s Open Field to take part in the event, which screened some of the most well-loved cat videos from the Internet on a giant screen to fully appreciate their genius and beauty.
Now, everyone involved is gearing up for a second round, which will be bigger and better. Taking place during the Minnesota State Fair – specifically on the State Fair Grandstand, no less – the second Internet Cat Video Festival won’t only feature more big-screen exploits of small cats being adorable and/or comedic; it’ll also see live music performances, art projects from local community groups, and mysterious special guest appearances.
As with last year’s Festival, the most popular video of the event will be awarded the “coveted” Golden Kitty prize. Last year’s winner, Will Braden, and his video Henri Le Chat Noir #2, will return to pass the honor on to the latest recipient. The winner will be selected online during the summer and before the event proper, with voters choosing from the YouTube playlist created for the Festival ahead of time.
Other prizes are also up for grabs, apparent in the Walker Center’s truly shameful appetite for puns by promising “new prizes for each cat-egory.” Amongst the new awards to be given out will be the “MN Cat-on-a-Stick,” a prize to be given to the star of the most popular video made in the state of Minnesota. That kind of makes sense, considering Minnesota is an odd place for the Festival to have taken place at all.
The Festival won’t just be celebration and fun, however; staying close to the theme and focus of the event, there will also be booths set up to accompany the screening that will host local animal resource non-profit groups for those wishing to help out real-life cats (and other animals) in addition to just enjoying their on-screen hi-jinks. Tickets for the event – a small investment of $10 – are already available online.
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