What is Ratapalooza? Ratapalooza is an educational expo and general celebration of all things to do with domestic rats as pets. It features a mock standards show exhibition where the audience can get a better understanding of club standards for appearance and conformation and how judging proceeds. We also feature a pet show where the audience votes and any rat can enter to be judged prettiest, largest, most talented, etc. The pet class is done either through measurement (biggest, longest tail) or by popular audience vote (prettiest, most laid back). Additionally, there will be numerous educational presentations and displays on various topics related to rat care, health, breeding, show standards, rat rescue and rehoming and plenty of fun activities including crafts for kids, a Rat Race and a costume contest. There will also be rats for adoption and rat supplies and merchandise on sale at the show. Just for fun, we'll also have sing along rataoke, a pea eating contest for rats and a pea fishing (with chopsticks) contest for people!
Who puts it on? RatsPacNW, a Pacific Northwest rat fanciers and breeders club, organizes Ratapalooza. Additionally, they put together several fancy rat standards shows and pet rat expos throughout the year in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia. For more information, please visit our club website at www.RatsPacNW.org You can also join the RatsPacNW Yahoo Group to chat rat with folks from the Northwest and around the world.
When is the show? Saturday, November 3, 2007. Check in and health check for rats partcipating in the show is between 9AM and 11AM. The doors open for the public at 11AM and the show ends at 6PM.
Where is it held this year? The Small Faces Child Development Center at 9250 14th Ave NW in Seattle. For directions and an area map please visit our Directions page.
Why Ratapalooza? To promote rats as the wonderful pets that they are and to showcase the many fine rats of the Pacific Northwest, to educate the public on the merits of rats as companion animals and to dispel common myths and misperceptions of the domestic fancy rat, and, most of all, to have fun with our ratty pals!
How much does this cost to attend? General admission to the public is $5 for adults, $3 for children up to 18 years of age.
Can I bring my rat? Yes, you may, but the rats must have been entered a least three weeks prior to the show to be eligible for admission. Entries close October 13 . For the health and safety of all our animals, we must require a three week quarantine on all rats entered in the show or brought for sale or delivery. This means that the rats do not leave the house and that no new rats are brought into the house for three weeks prior to the show. Thus, we cannot allow any rats that do not have an entry form on file to enter the show building on the day of the show. This may seem rather strict and unyielding, but, trust us, it's done to protect everyone's animals from the spread of potentially deadly viruses. We care about all our fantastic Northwest ratties and would not want to see events like this one cancelled due to viral outbreaks. The online entry form can be found at our Entries page.
Will there be rats for sale at the show? Yes. All rats must be at least 6 weeks of age by the show date to enter the building. All rats for sale or prearranged delivery are pre-entered and the three week quarantine strictly observed. Everyone bringing rats must be a member in good standing of RatsPacNW. To become a member, visit www.RatsPacNW.org To ensure that the animals are not sold for food, all rats must sell for a minimum of $10 singly or $15 for a pair. RatsPacNW has nothing against reptiles or the people who keep and love them, but none of our animals are sold as food at any time. You may also make arrangements ahead of time with one of the breeders attending the show to reserve a rat for pick up at the show. We strongly caution against the purchase of rats outside in the parking lot as these animals were not registered and we cannot be assured of their health or viral status. If you do decide to purchase a rat outside the show arena, please do so after you have been inside to ensure you do not bring a virus in with you on your clothing or hands.
What about "rescue" rats or older rats for rehoming? Not only will we have cute kittens for sale, but there will also be adult rats looking for a second chance at the perfect home. "Rescue" rats are rats who have been saved from bad situations such as neglect or abuse and we will have several organizations that do rescue on hand at the show with rats to adopt or photo books of available rats in the Northwest. There may also be some older rats from breeders that are looking for a comfy home to retire to - "recycled rats" often make for some of the best pets. Rats are like fine wine: they just get better with age!
Will there be rat related items for sale at the show? Yes, several vendors will be on hand with rat supplies, enrichment items, food and bedding, travel bags, health care and rat keeping literature and unique rat crafts and toys.
What about activities for kids - is this a good place for families? Absolutely! We've expanded our "just for kids" activities at the show to include a craft area, books for kids about rats and other small animals, and our new Junior Showman class for kids 12 and under who want to show off their rats.
I would love to do a presentation or create a display! How do I sign up? So glad you asked! Please visit our Presenters Page to see what others will be doing so as to avoid as much overlap as possible. Email us with your idea and we will put you on our presenters list. As we still have a lot to do, the sooner you can notify us of your idea, the better. We also are looking for more rat related arts and crafts, so if you'd like to display your artwork, please email us as well.
Can I help by advertising? Yes, we have a PDF file of our flier available for print out. Pet stores and schools and community centers are especially good places to advertise. Also, if you have a local media outlet, such as a newspaper or community radio or television station, that you feel might be interested in running a story on Ratapalooza, please email us with their contact information and we will send them a press release on the show. Thanks so much for getting involved to spread the word about Ratapalooza - that's why we had nearly 700 people attend our first year and why this year's show will be just as good!
Do you have groovy Ratapalooza t-shirts for sale? Yes, we do! We will also have a few of last year's shirts on sale if you missed out or if your Ratapalooza 5 shirt is so faded out from wearing it daily to show your RatsPac pride.
How did Ratapalooza get started? You can blame a curly black and white rat for that! Ratapalooza wouldn't exist at all if the show director hadn't fallen in love with her first ever show rat from a breeder, RSCL Keoki from Rattie Rascals Rattery. Keoki made such an impact on her life that she decided to spread the gospel of pet rats to the rest of Seattle, and thus was Ratapalooza created. Keoki passed away a couple years ago, but his memory continues to live on in his descendants and through Ratapalooza. Rats may be small, but they sure do make a big impact sometimes!
I have a question you haven't addressed here! Who do I ask? You are welcome to email us and ask Lynn Rosskamp, show director, any questions you would like. For more information on RatsPacNW in specific, please visit our club website at www.RatsPacNW.org
Heathcliff field tests one of the fabulous chew toys on sale in the vendor area.
All materials on this page copyright Lynn Rosskamp 2007. They may not be reproduced without permission from the author.