NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS1130) - Get ready for one heck of a Ratstravaganza this weekend in New Westminster. It could be the last celebration for local rat fanciers for quite some time with Ratstravaganza 2013 already cancelled and the future of the show up in the air.
"Hopefully someone else will come forward and organize the show in 2014," says longtime organizer Lizzy O Sullivan, who is stepping down after six years as head cheese.
That means this Saturday at Sapperton Hall could be your last chance to enjoy rat races, costume contests, longest tail contests and voting for the biggest, squishiest and 'kissiest' rats.
"Everybody brings their rat up and demonstrates how kissy their rat is," explains O Sullivan. "Then the audience votes for the one they think is the most kissiest."
If all this is enough to send shivers down your spine, O Sullivan says domestic rats are clean, affectionate, adorable and nothing like their wild counterparts.
"They are a pack animal and very similar mentality to a dog so you bond with them in much the same way you would with a dog. They are just affectionate and interactive and you don't get that with many other types of animals. If you are somewhere you can't have a dog, you can always have a rat," she says. "They are soft and cuddly and they will just mold right to you."
There are long waiting lists with reputable 'ratteries', a testament to the growing popularity of the rodents as pets, and O Sullivan says there's a reason Ratstravaganza has grown from a small gathering in a church hall nine years ago to the large show it is now.
"It's really good family fun. A lot of people come just out of curiosity and it's like taking your kids on a trip to the zoo for the day. You see a whole bunch of cute animals and get to pet some of them. People really love that."
Whiskers the Giant Rat will also make an appearance with a special rat craft table for the kids.
Ratstravaganza 2012 is from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 11th at Sapperton Hall in New Westminster. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children.