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Auction raises nearly $100K

By Colin DeVries

CATSKILL — In case you haven’t noticed, Main Street is a little less animated these days — lacking the summer-long felinity that drew thousands of visitors to this “cool” riverfront community.

The Cat’n Around Catskill Cat’s Meow Auction and Gala was held Sunday at the Historic Catskill Point, bidding farewell to another successful year of the Catskill Cats.

“Wow,” said Heart of Catskill Association Executive Director Linda Overbaugh, orchestrator of Cat’n Around Catskill, in response to the turnout at the auction this year.

The auction raised approximately $95,000 from the sale of each Catskill Cat, and will be contributed to Animalkind and the Barry Hopkins Memorial Art Scholarship Fund.

“Considering what happened in the stock market and the economy last week,” said Overbaugh, “I’m happy.”

Nearly $6,000 more was raised this year than last year during the inaugural auction, with the top selling cat going for more than $5,000. Some of the top sellers included:

n $5,300 — “Katzenjammer Kittens” by Karl Annis, sponsored by Athens Generating

n $4,900 — “Wet Your Whiskers” by Carly Vincent, sponsored by The Wine Cellar

n $3,900 — “Country Farm Cat” by Kenny Rich, sponsored by Helmedach & Young

n $3,400 — “A Starry Night in Catskill” by N.J. Wheelock, sponsored by Charlie’s CARSTAR Auto Body

n $2,300 — “COP-purr” by Kenny Rich, sponsored by Sawyer Chevrolet

Last year’s top seller, “Old Kaatskillian,” sold for $4,600.

Overbaugh estimated that this year’s average sale was about $1,600, while last year’s average was $1,800. The lowest seller went for $650, last year’s lowest was $700. Each artist receives 25 percent of the sale price.

Awards were also presented at the event in six different categories: All-Around Favorite, Most Artistic, Most Original, Makes You Feel Good, and Most Work.

Votes were cast by Cat’n Around participants — tourists, visitors and residents.

And the winners are ...

All-Around Favorite:

n First Place: “COP-purr” by Kenny Rich, sponsored by Sawyer Chevrolet

n Second Place: “A Starry Night in Catskill” by N.J. Wheelock, sponsored by Charlie’s CARSTAR Auto Body

n Third Place: “Country Farm Cat” by Kenny Rich, sponsored by Helmedach & Young

Most Artistic:

n First Place: “Kaatskill Cat” by James H. Cramer, sponsored by Sawyer Chevrolet

n Second Place: “A Starry Night in Catskill” by N.J. Wheelock, sponsored by Charlie’s CARSTAR Auto Body

n Third Place: “Cat Around Town” by Margaret Crenson, sponsored by Union Mills Lofts

Most Original:

n First Place: “Cat’n Hook” by Cynthia Mulvaney, sponsored by Riverview Marine Services

n Second Place: “Kit-Cat” by Kenny Rich, sponsored by The Candyman

n Third Place: “Blue Jean Cat” by Kenny Rich, sponsored by Holcim Cement

Makes You Feel Good:

n First Place: “Kit-Cat” by Kenny Rich, sponsored by The Candyman

n Second Place: “Fairyland in the Catskills” by Carol Quackenbush, sponsored by Sawyer Chevrolet

n Third Place: “Americat” by Lex Grey, sponsored by Hillcrest Press

Most Work:

n First Place: “A Starry Night in Catskill” by N.J. Wheelock, sponsored by Charlie’s CARSTAR Auto Body

n Second Place: “’Phil’ the Philatelic Feline” by Daniel Lalor, sponsored by the U.S. Post Office

n Third Place: “Catlantis” by Ellen De Lucia, sponsored Bank of Greene County

The success of this year’s Cat’n Around public art exhibition has, once again, proved itself worthy of a continued presence in the Catskill community, according to Overbaugh.

The Heart of Catskill Association hopes to feature the cats again next summer, perhaps starring 70 fiberglass felines. While nothing has been set in stone, ideas for next year are already on the table.

“We’re thinking about theme-ing them in celebration of the (Hudson-Fulton-Champlain) Quadricentennial celebration next year,” Overbaugh said. “It has just been so successful as a tourist draw, we definitely want to do it again.”

This summer has seen national attention that can be attributed to the Cat’n Around exhibition. Catskill has been featured in Budget Travel magazine as one of the 10 “coolest” small towns, and also featured on the CBS Early Morning Show under the same guise.

Overbaugh also said she had been contacted by Business Week for a feature article on the popular Hudson River community.

“It’s been a huge deal on so many fronts,” she said.

While next year’s Cat’n Around will surely be another huge success, Overbaugh says the next challenge is to come up with something for the rest of the year.

“For four months out of the year it makes Catskill hot,” she said. “Now I just have to find something else to put together for the other eight months.”

The Cat’n Around Catskill kitties can be viewed online at www.cat-n-around.com.

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