MN State Fair to host the Walker's 2013 Internet Cat Video Festival

Photo by Gene Pittman for the Walker Art Center

Based on the popularity of cats on the internet, it's no surprise that last summer's Internet Cat Video Film Festival was a massive hit, spawning similar events around the country. The debut event attracted over 10,000 attendees, including celebrity kitties and folks from around the world.

For the festival's second installment, the Walker Art Center decided to go even bigger. In order to accommodate the screening's exponentially expanding audience, the museum will be moving the fun to the Minnesota State Fair's Grandstand for one huge, cat-tastic event. Previous shows in the venue have included major arena acts such as KISS, Weezer, and Maroon 5.

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Although the festival's venue has changed, the event will be familiar to folks who attended last year's screening. The videos featured will still be crowd-sourced and curated by cat fans online with help from the museum. Cat lovers are encouraged to submit their favorite clips, be they old or new, for potential inclusion in categories such as comedy, drama, documentary, foreign, musical, and, yes, lifetime achievement.

People's Choice Best of Festival winner Will Braden, whose "Henri Le Chat Noir #2" was selected to take home the highly coveted Golden Kitty Award, will also be returning to this year's celebration. Not only will he be bestowing the trophy to this year's winner, he will also be screening a brand-new installment featuring Henri exclusively that evening.

While the Grandstand show will certainly be a Minnesota highlight this summer, the Internet Cat Video Festival isn't confined to our cat-lovin' state. It will also be hitting the road, rock 'n' roll style, with stops including Memphis, Oakland, and Austin's SXSW music fest.

To submit nominees, or for a cuteness break, visit walkerart.org/catvidfest.

IF YOU GO:

The Walker Art Center's 2nd Annual Internet Cat Video Fest (#catvidfest)
Minnesota State Fairgrounds' Grandstand
Wednesday, August 28
$10; ticket price does not include parking or fair admission
Tickets go on sale March 9 at mnstatefair.org
The deadline for submissions is May 1