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For eight years, people have gathered in the Wedge neighborhood of Minneapolis to celebrate a universal experience — the happiness one gets when you spot a cat in a window during a walk.
John Edwards, the publisher and editor of the hyper-local news source Wedge LIVE! started the tour as a way for neighbors in the area to adore the felines. The Wedge, an area known for its historical homes and lack of parking, has many cats that hang out in windowsills.
“I thought, why don’t we do a tour of cats in windows instead of the historic homes tours, which I have no interest in,” Edwards said. “I like the idea of bringing a big crowd to the Wedge and proving that you can have great community events and bring people together.”
But this year, there’s a little competition. St. Paul residents decided to partake in their own cat tour in the Hamline-Midway neighborhood. Inspired by the Wedge tour, organizers Libby Cook and Candance Frost started planning their tour in March.
Frost’s cat Tango who was headlining the event unfortunately was struck by a car recently and died.
“So, RIP Tango,” Frost said. “Tango is an inspiration, and she is in cat heaven right now on the side of our garage. We miss her, but we will make buttons to honor her.”
Twenty other cats will be patiently waiting for their turn in the limelight for the 2.5 mile long walking tour that starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 14 at St. Columba Church. The tour will end at Horton Park at 12 p.m. with Sweet Fruci Ice Cream and the groundbreaking ceremony of the new St. Paul Public library location.
Frost said she hopes the event can connect the neighbors in what they see as trying times.
“There are so many cats out and about, and we wanted something whimsical during hard times,” Frost said.
Cook agreed, saying the event is also about neighborhood pride.
“I hope that maybe this will inspire other people because it doesn’t have to be a huge cat tour, it can just be a little block party or something that shows that we are in this together and we are a community,” she said.
In 2024, the Wedge tour received an outpouring of media coverage across the country. Edwards talked with the Washington Post and People Magazine. This year, PBS is filming an episode on the tour. Edwards has come to expect it to grow a little bit every year — last year's tour reached over 500 people — but part of him can’t help but wonder, could it get too big?
“I wonder when it’s just gonna wear off. When does it get overexposed and journalists stop calling me? When does it get so big that the city shuts us down?” he asked.
Susan Lynx will be the grand marshall for the Wedge tour. Edwards said she embodies the spirit of the cat tour. In an article with Southwest Voices in 2024 Lynx explained her dedication to the event.
“We feel good. It’s okay to be a nerd. We’re silly,” Lynx said to journalist Melody Hoffman.
On why she decided to wear binoculars, she told Hoffman: “Because I take this s--- seriously. I didn’t want to have to crowd in.”
Even with some competition, Edwards doesn’t plan to end the Wedge tour anytime soon. Both tours are dedicated to the same goal — hosting iconic local events that remind you why you love the Twin Cities.
“I feel obligated to keep doing it because people like it so much,” Edwards said. “And after every tour, it’s a little bit reassuring and maybe a little surprising how grateful people are. I couldn’t deny people a good time by discontinuing the cat tour.”
The Wedge LIVE cat tour starts at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 25 at Mueller Park.
English (US) ·