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RATFEST PHOTOS!
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2006 Roster
View the 2006 Photos!
1. Cathy P. - Gales Ferry, CT
2. Ellen G. - Derry, NH
3. Jess V. - Manchester, NH
4. Jane A. - NYC
5. Sandy F. - Ledyard, CT
6. Tara F. - Ledyard, CT
7. Stephanie F. - Ledyard, CT
8. Bella H. - Fern Park, FL
9. Ann T. - Andover, MA
10. June H. - Rumny, NH
11. Melissa P. - Rochester, NY
12. JoAnna L. - Yonkers, NY
13. Branwen R. - Rowley, MA
14. Shannon S. - New London, CT
15. Kim S. - Dover, NJ
16. Lydia A. - Hartford, CT
17. Chris C. - Vernon, CT
18. Raquel C. - NYC
19. Barbara W. - Putnam, CT
20. Tony B. - Putnam, CT
21. Laurey B. - Uxbridge, MA
22. Elle T. - Hamden, CT
23. Tricia R. - Groton, CT
24. Maddy P. - New London, CT
25. Guinevere P. - New London, CT
26. Lucas P. - New London, CT
2006 Recap
Well, it's all over for another year. As always, you work and plan and clean and organize for WEEKS -- and it all goes by in a flash! But it was a great time.
I had some wonderful helpers this year. Bella -- yes BELLA -- from the Florida RatFest finally made it up here this year. She got here Friday afternoon. And Jane came up on Friday too, to help me out. It was WONDERFUL to have them!
Sat. morning, early, my two co-hostesses, Jess and Ellen, came up and we got BUSY with all the last-minute preparations. Thankfully, although it was hot, the big HEAT WAVE that they had been predicting didn't happen. The weather was tolerable, much better than it COULD have been!
Let's see... We started by just greeting people and putting on nametags and setting out the food that was brought. It was wonderful to see old familiar faces and we had quite a few new faces too.
After most everyone had arrived, we filled our plates and went out to the deck to introduce ourselves. Then we had the Yankee Swap...
As always, there were some terrific gifts given out this year. One of those was a funny/adorable rat figurine of a VERY round rat. I actually had this in my possession for a few minutes before it was stolen from me! It was stolen time and time again... I don't even remember who ended up with it! (But the girl who brought it actually went out and BOUGHT me another one, so I have one too!) We always laugh a lot during the Swap!
Next we had Melissa do her Informational Demo. Poor Melissa -- she drove up JUST to do the demo and then had to run back home -- a FIVE hour trip, one way! That's dedication...
Anyway, her demo this year was on how to set-up a home oxygen/nebulizing chamber. I have wanted something like this for a LONG time. I had gotten all the necessary parts ahead of time and Melissa brought me what else I needed, so we built a chamber for me while she demonstrated how to use it. She also handed out instructions for anyone who wants to build their own -- this might help MANY rats in the future.
This chamber might not work for everyone, but my vets are very cooperative and, once I purchase an oxygen tank, I will feel SO much better knowing I have oxygen in the house for my girls. THANK YOU Melissa!!
After the Demo we took a break to do some shopping. I spent a FORTUNE!! Bella brought some of her etched glass and I just could NOT resist it. Plus there were all sorts of rattie supplies, T-shirts by Chris, art work, rat jewelry, including some lovely bracelets made by Ellen, and other wonderful stuff at the RatFest Mall. It was great! (But the one thing I really NEEDED -- a tube loft -- no one had for sale!!)
Then it was time to play the new game that Jess had been working on for months -- Rat Jeopardy. This game was very professionally done and so much fun!! We broke into several teams and played it pretty much like the TV show, with several different categories and we even had the Final Jeopardy round! I honestly forget which team won, but I know they won by THOUSANDS of points! I think it was Bella's team... Anyway, everyone got prizes! This was a fantastic game and it must have taken a LOT of work to put it together. Yay Jess and Ellen!!
All during the day, my girls were held and played with. They would cuddle up inside shirts and go to sleep. They 'christened' quite a few -- but fortunately, we are all rat lovers so no one seemed to mind! At one point I put all the girls back into the cage so they could rest and when I went back to check on them, they were FLAKED OUT!! They was tired wittle girls!!! LOL!!
Next it was time to do the raffle. We had so many FABULOUS prizes donated this year, including a HUGE rat cage (donated by Kim's Ark) which was completely furnished (with donations from many people) and some FANTASTIC lawn ornaments (donated by Branwen) -- they were about 2 feet tall, made of metal and were shaped like rats playing instruments. Incredibly cute. We also raffled off some home-made greeting cards (Thank you Shari!), a license plate that says Rat Mobile (Thank you June!), a Rat Tent (Thank you -- oh dear, who donated this?), a gorgeous hair pin made by Janet, some earrings made by Janet, a huge knitted blanket (thank you Barbara!)...oh, and probably a few other things too! I don't remember who got what except that Jess got the big cage, Kim got the lawn ornaments and Ellen got the hair pin. Everyone was VERY happy with their winnings and we raised a LOT of money for Kim's Ark!
Next we did the Photo Contest. We didn't have as many entries this year as usual -- which was just fine because it was already HARD enough to vote! We had 5 categories and all the winning pics were great. The prizes for this contest were all donated by Robyn, of Dapper Rat fame. Her wonderful posters, book marks and magnets were much sought after!
About now we took another break to fill our plates again... The food was TERRIFIC. We had chicken and rice, macaroni salad, chili, sweet and sour kielbasa, Swedish meatballs, Chaquilles, chips, dip, a veggie platter, fruit, rolls, cookies, some YUMMY caramel treat thingies, and lots, lots more. No one went hungry!
Then it was time for Rationary, a big favorite. This time, at Bella's suggestion, we didn't split into teams -- whoever guessed the drawing got to draw next. It was great fun!
Next we had S'Mores, thanks to Kim's Ark! Those sweet treats are SOOOOO good! We also cut into the fabulous RatFest cake made and decorated by JoAnna. Yummy!!
Finally, it was time for the Grand Finale. Unfortunately, technical problems prevented us from having music, but we still enjoyed the sparklers and fireworks. It's a great way to end the day!
It was a VERY full day and the weekend wasn't over yet!
Sunday we all met at the restaurant for Brunch -- only to find they couldn't seat all 19 of us! So we moved to another restaurant. The food was good but they didn't have enough waitresses on so we had to wait a LONG LONG time... Still, we had fun and it was GREAT that so many people joined us!
Then we returned to the house and set-up to do Rat Crafts. Jess brought a TON of stuff for us to make greeting cards with -- everything you could imagine. Plus, we had gotten a HUGE donation from a woman named Shari of all sorts of scrapbooking materials. I don't even know Shari -- but THANK YOU!! It was hot outside so a few people opted to stay inside and chat, but most of us had a very good time making cards and decorating boxes and doing some scrapbooking.
I had to leave for awhile to bring someone to the train station and while I was gone, Bella entertained people with her Rat Test. From what I heard, everyone enjoyed that!
By now it was getting late and people began to leave. It's always sad when it's over...
All in all, we had 24 people on Sat. and 19 people joined us for Brunch on Sun. -- a very big turnout! With help from SO MANY great people, all went smoothly.
A HUGE 'Thank You!' to my co-hostess Jess, who made it her business to do whatever I needed done. What a HUGE help that was! I'm not sure she'll ever sign up to do it again though -- she was TIRED by the end!
More BIG THANKS go to Jane, who was a dynamo at keeping the kitchen clean all weekend long. And to Bella, for all her advice and for making the fabulous RatFest Welcome sign. And to Ellen, for helping out with everything. And to JoAnna, keeper of the web site and maker of the RatFest cake. And to Melissa, who went above and beyond the call of duty to get here this year.
Thank you to EVERYONE who donated prizes and raffle items. We ended up with
a FULL table of prizes -- really GOOD prizes too!
And finally, thank you to everyone who attended. Some of you come a long way to join us and it would NOT be the same without you!
Another successful NE RatFest. In spite of my worries earlier, all went well and we had plenty of donations and people attend. So maybe -- maybe -- we'll do it again next year!!
Cathy & the girls -- Pepper, Bizzy, Snippet & Smidgeon
RIP: Sandy, Tippy, Kissabelle, Ziggy, Misty, Jazzy, Spark, Whisper, Breeze,
Dandy, Isabeau & Viv
Connecticut, USA
Contact Cathy for more information.