Cat convention in Asbury Park: the 5 most amazing things

Asbury Park has gone to the cats.

The first Catsbury Park Cat Convention drew thousands of attendees to the historic Convention Hall on the Asbury Park Boardwalk on Saturday, April 7, with some traveling from other countries to be part of the inaugural feline festivities.

Saturday was an incredible day for countless reasons, but here are our top five favorite things about the first day of the cat convention.

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1. Lil Bub!

One of the internet's favorite cats, Lil Bub, was the star attraction on Saturday.

Bub, the 7-year-old cat from Indiana who has more than 3 million Facebook followers, participated in a meet-and-greet session at the Asbury Hotel and was the subject of a nearly two-hour multimedia presentation by her owner, Mike Bridavsky, in the Paramount Theatre.

Bub and Bridavsky have been longtime advocates for special needs pets, and all proceeds from Bub's meet-and-greet session benefited both Catsbury Park and Lil Bub’s Big Fund for the ASPCA.

Launched in 2014 and administered by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the fund is designed to distribute grants to animal-welfare organizations supporting the adoption of cats in need of special care or extra help.

(For more on Bub, watch our video interview with her and Bridavsky above.)

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2. Helping out

Among the countless vendors and groups represented at Convention Hall were organizations dedicated to helping animals, such as Spring Lake-based Rescue Ridge and Rancho Relaxo, an animal rescue and sanctuary based in Salem County.

The Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Jersey Shore Animal Foundation also hosted a booth at the convention where a number of cats and kittens were available for potential adoption.

Catsbury Park, the convention's organizers, opened as a cat cafe on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park last year.

A nonprofit corporation, Catsbury Park works with area shelters, and more than 100 cats have found homes through Catsbury Park to date.

3. Living on the veg

The folks from the New Jersey VegFest series of popup shops and food festivals presented an all-vegan array of food vendors at the event.

Particular cruelty-free culinary highlights from the day included the empanadas by Freakin' Vegan and the eggplant parmigiana sandwich from the Green Moustache.

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4. Local business support

Several of Catsbury Park's neighbors from the local Asbury Park-area business community were on hand in solidarity with the cafe's debut convention.

Cookman Avenue barbershop Larry Cadillac were offering haircuts, with all of the proceeds going to Catsbury Park. Body art shop Neptune Tattoo, located on Route 35 in nearby Neptune, had artists creating cat tattoos live on site.

Even tastemaker Jenn Hampton and her Cookman Avenue-based Parlor Gallery presented "Making Muffins," a cat-themed art exhibition.

5. There's more!

That's right, the other best thing about Catsbury Park Cat Convention is that it continues Sunday, April 8.

Lil Bub will host another benefit meet-and-greet-session on Sunday, and other celebrity guests include Teddy and Dexter of Monmouth County-based internet sensations Dobbikats.

Catsbury Park Cat Convention continues 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, April 8 at Convention Hall and the Paramount Theatre, 1300 Ocean Ave. on the Asbury Park Boardwalk, and the Asbury Hotel, 210 Fifth Ave., Asbury Park.

General admission convention tickets are $20, or $12 for kids under 12. Kids under 3 are free, and meet-and-greet tickets will be available for an additional fee.

There will also be cat yoga adoption events happening at 10 a.m. at the Asbury Hotel, ticketed for $20 separately from the convention.

For tickets, a full schedule of events and more information, visit www.catsburyconvention.com.