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RATFEST PHOTOS!
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2003 Roster
View the 2003 Photos!
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* = Both Days
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* = Saturday Only
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* = Sunday Only
1. *Cathy - Gales Ferry, CT
2. *Jessica P. - Astoria, NY
3. *Deon - Astoria, NY
4. *Melissa P. - Rochester, NY
5. *Beth L. - Oceanside, NY
6. *Mary Z. - Rochester, NY
7. *JoAnna L. - Yonkers, NY
8. *Jocelyn J. - Old Lyme, CT
9. *Jay E. - Suffield, CT
10. *Raquel C. - New York, NY
11. *Typhani B. - Rindge, NH
12. *Sherry H. - Rindge, NH
13. *Dennis H. - Rindge, NH
14. *Jess L. - Manchester, NH
15. *Kellee C. - Manchester, NH
16. *Tracy R. - Braintree, MA
17. *Emily K. - Pawcatuck, CT
18. *Liz K. - Pawcatuck, CT
19. *Allison L. - Ellington, CT
20. *Marie H. - Wiscasset, ME
21. *Kim S. - Dover, NJ
22. *Chris V. - Danbury, CT
2003 Recap
Saturday - July 19
Saturday was a beautiful day, although very hot - especially on Cathy's deck. But her beautiful yard was too pretty to warrent staying inside, so with some extra fans and a big umbrella, we spent the day on her sunny deck. Everyone who came were immediately awed by the awesome prize table - there were SO many donations of wonderful and unique rat items - stuffed animals, towels, socks, hammocks, figurines, soap, etc... Jessica started things off with introductions, which allowed us to meet the many new people who came this year. It was great to see so many new faces!
Our first activity was a favorite from last year, the Ratasaurus Egg Hunt. There were lots of colorful plastic eggs hidden all around the yard and each egg had a slip of paper in it with instructions on it. Some of the instructions were things like 'Get a free raffle ticket' or 'Take a prize from the prize table.' Other instructions were not so easy -- 'Act like a doe in heat,' 'Act like a rat getting her nails clipped,' 'Tell us your most embarrassing rat moment' were just some of the more fun things people had to do! There were also 2 special eggs -- one had a small bag in it, containing a lovely pair of earrings and a pin and another egg held the coveted 'You get the Grand Prize!' slip of paper. Beth won the earrings and JoAnna got the Grand Prize. The Grand Prize was a large basket full of all sorts of rattie stuff, mostly things for a rat cage, but also a few things for JoAnna!
Next came the Yankee Trader style Gift Exchange. Once again we were treated to a fabulous display of generosity and creativity as one gift opened was better than the last! There was some stealing, but there were so many awesome gifts that everyone went home happy.
After the Gift Exchange we held the RatFest raffle. There were 6 wonderful items to raffle off thanks to the many GENEROUS donations! There were 2 bags of Oxbow's new Regal Rat food rom Melissa, a set of beautiful placemats with embroidered rats on them from Charlotte, a gorgeous necklace from Janet, a Martin's 660 cage and a Martin's Rat Playpen, both donated by Skip and Diane Martin. Half of the proceeds from the raffle went to Kim's Ark for all the fabulous work they do rescuing rats and mice.
Next Melissa gave an informative demonstration on how to give a rat subcutaneous fluids. Jazzy was the BRAVE rat who 'volunteered' to be stuck! It was a great talk and made us all a little more prepared and knowlegable for an emergency.
Our next activity was the RatFest Photo Contest. As always, with all of the cute pictures, it was very HARD to vote! There were five categories (Cutest, Funniest, Most Bizarre, Most Rat-Like and Best Overall) with prizes just as cute.
Next, we sugared up with the RatFest cake for a much anticipated game of Rationary! It was the Goolies versus the Dumbos and the Dumbos took an early 1 point lead after the first round. However, the Goolies rallied to victory even after picking "heat regulation!"
Cathy again provided an awesome closing ceremony complete with fireworks, sparklers, and flags. "God Bless the USA" played while we all sang along. It was a great way to end the day but sad to say goodbye to the ones who wouldn't be coming back on Sunday.
Sunday- July 20
Eleven of us met at 11am to go to brunch at IHOP. Thanks to Jessica and Deon, who went ahead to wait on line, we were able to be seated almost as soon as the rest of us arrived. We had a lot of fun chatting and eating the yummy food. The rest of the raffle money was used to pay some of the bill to make everyone's share more reasonable.
Then it was back to Cathy's house of rat craft. We made rat magnets and coasters (you'll have to see the pictures). Everyone made such unique and creatve things. And Deon made a mega one of a big rat. Eventually it was time for everyone to leave and it was a sad goodbye. But North East US RatFest 2003 was so much fun and everyone left with lots of goodies and prizes from the great weekend.
Contact Cathy for more information.