Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Catskill hitting small screen this March


 

By Colin DeVries
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
Published: Monday, January 31, 2011 10:01 AM EST
CATSKILL — The celebrated Cat’n Around Catskill public art project will appear in the living rooms of potentially millions of Americans this March, being prominently featured in an episode of the upcoming Animal Planet series “Must Love Cats.”

Production crews roamed Main Street last summer, said Linda Overbaugh, executive director of the Heart of Catskill Association/Catskill Chamber of Commerce, filming the decorative fiberglass felines for the cat-themed documentary series.

“Must Love Cats” hosted by a guitar-toting John Fulton, chronicles a coast-to-coast journey to find all things cat — from the Alamo to Main Street, Catskill and back again.

The six-part series debuts Feb.12 at 8 p.m. on Animal Planet (Mid-Hudson Cable channel 70). The episode featuring Catskill will air on March 12, Overbaugh said.


There will also be a few teases to Catskill in the episodes leading up to March 12, she added.

“I think it’ll be great,” she said. “We’ve been looking forward to it.”

Fulton and his crew filmed Overbaugh and Greene County Treasurer Peter Markou, who was at that time a member of HOCA’s board of directors, strolling down Main Street and visiting the village’s Hudson Riverfront park, Dutchmen’s Landing.

Along with the national exposure the show will bring, it may also prominently feature the work of local artists Kenny Rich and NJ Wheelock, whose cats were filmed.

Though the airing may bring the now five-year-old Cat’n Around Catskill public street art project to new heights, rumor has it this may be the project’s last year.

Overbaugh said it was “possible” the cats may retreat from Main Street and beyond in 2012.


“You just wonder how long these things can run and continue to do what they are supposed to do,” she said Sunday. “Maybe we’ll give it a break and pick it up in the next few years. Maybe we’ll switch over and do something else.”

Last year, during the fourth annual Cat’n Around Catskill Cat’s Meow Auction and Gala, 61 cats sold at auction raised more than $60,000 for local charities and HOCA, down about $20,000 from the year before when 58 cats were auctioned.

This year, Overbaugh estimated 50 cats will be sponsored, though 70 designs by local artists were submitted.

Design selections will be made on Feb. 13 during the fifth annual Artists-Sponsors Reception at Brik Gallery.

Updates and further information on Must Love Cats are available at www.facebook.com/mustlovecatsfanpage.

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