I Can Haz Cat Videos: First Internet Cat Video Festival Today
Aug. 30, 2012 — -- Beautifully made films with subtitles they are not, but to some they are the most beautiful (or at least LOL-worthy) things online. Yes, we're talking about the cat videos of the Internet. Today they are getting some special attention.
The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is holding an Internet cat video festival today from 4 to 10 p.m. at Minneapolis' Open Field. Attendees get to come and view the best of the best cat videos of the interwebs in public instead of in their cubicles or on their couches.
"We noticed how many people in the office were into cat videos last year and we decided it might be fun to show them in a public setting," Scott Stulen, project director of the event, told ABC News. "It will be fun to see the dynamic of how people watch them together."
At the festival, for which admission is free, 79 cat videos will be played. The videos were selected from a list of over 10,000 that were submitted by people on the Walker center's website. The final seven videos will be the people's choice picks; Stulen's team chose the seven videos with the most votes. A playlist of the videos being shown at the festival will be available here after the festival.
"This came together all through crowdsourcing. The videos were made by the public, nominated by the public, and voted on by the public," Stulen said.
But even if you can't make it to Minneapolis, you will be able to help choose the best cat video on the Internet. Anyone will be able to tweet their favorite video from that list using the #catvidfest hashtag. The Best of Show winner will be announced on Sept. 8 on Animal Plant's "My Cat From Hell" show.
Stulen said he anticipates that over 7,000 people will attend tonight. And he said even some of the stars of the show -- the online cats -- will be in attendance.
"I really hope everyone doesn't bring their cat, but the makers of some of the videos will be there with their famous cats."
