Catsbury Park Cat Convention To Have 90 Vendors

ASBURY PARK, NJ - Catsbury Park Cat Cafe and Tea House, here, which is scheduling the inaugural Catsbury Park Cat Convention at Asbury Park Convention Hall this Spring, has announced it is reviewing vendors for the event.

The goal is to have about 90 vendors for the weekend session in April for the convention which is the first in New Jersey and what the organizers hope will become the premier feline event on the East Coast.

The two-day weekend event will welcome in a central location in an iconic boardwalk venue the cat-loving population along with many of social media's favorite felines. Organizers said they will schedule informative sessions and seminars hosted by respected advocates and speakers on behalf of cat rescue, health and behavior and cat-related products. Innovative merchandise will be available to purchase from vendors and while there is space for 90, officials anticipate those spots will fill very quickly.

Vendor forms are available at the Catsbury Park website but officials warn merely submitting the form does not guarantee vendor space. When each vendor application is approved, the vendor will receive a separate email with details and payment information.

A standard booth is 8" x 8" and comes with one table and two chairs. The booth will be piped and draped. A standard booth is $250 for the duration of the weekend. If you need a powered booth, there is another $50 fee; if you want to be located on an aisle, another $50 although those spaces will fill up fast, organizers warn. Larger booths and extra tables are available for additional fees. Vendors need to be as specific as possible about what kind of booth they are seeking.

Booths will not be confirmed until payment is made. Once payment is received, there are no refunds unless the event is cancelled by Catsbury Park which is looking for vendors that have products that are cat themed. Cat toys, food, beds, wellness, cat-themed merchandise, jewelery, homewares, books etc.

Catsbury Park also plans to reserve spaces for charity and rescue groups especially as the Cookman Avenue facility is in the cat rescue business.

Catsbury Park Cat Convention is a non-profit event and will be raising funds for a variety of charities and groups so vendors will not be permitted to solicit donations but welcome to sell merchandise and provide information and promotional material to the guests. A select handful of charity/rescue submissions will be considered for discounted rates after all submissions are presented to organizers.

Catsbury Park tries to find forever homes for kittens and cats. The organization started fostering in the summer of 2016, placing 37 kittens with forever homes within the first two months.

Throughout 2017, the organization assisted the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals with additional adoptions.

By Nov. 30, the organization had adopted 90 cats out in total, and the number is rising but they also wanted to create a space where the public could learn about cats, interact with them and potentially take them home, according to their website.

While they still want to continue fostering kittens, Catsbury Park Tea House & Cat Lounge will focus more on mostly adult cats that, while available for adoption, are residents of the cafe and interact with customers.

Catsbury Park also provides tea for humans while they are interacting with their feline friends.

A cat convention will convene here in April. Photograph by Brian Ach/Associated Pres