Catstock 2 features live music, food and vendors in Oneida. How the event helps a cat rescue

Mike Jaquays
·2 min read
There will be live music, food, basket raffles and vendors as Catstock 2 raises funds June 4 for the Finnland's Fosters cat rescue facility in Oneida. Admission is free.
There will be live music, food, basket raffles and vendors as Catstock 2 raises funds June 4 for the Finnland's Fosters cat rescue facility in Oneida. Admission is free.

Five local bands will take the stage this weekend to help four-legged pets in need as the Catstock festival fundraiser returns to Oneida for its second year.

Catstock 2 is from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 4, in the parking lot across from Finnland's Fosters cat rescue on Cedar Street. The event is a fundraiser for the facility, spearheaded by Logan Chesebro, drummer of "One Man. The Band."

"I am a cat lover and wanted to do something to help them out," Chesebro admitted. "My family has supported them since the day they opened - they do so much for promoting spaying and neutering as well as helping feral cats, too."

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Last year's first event had three bands, and this year that count has expanded to five, Chesebro said. Live music this time also features Spare Parts, Buffy and the Boyz, Rezenens and King Squiddy and the Sethlapods.

Catstock 2 will have food, prizes, raffle baskets and a variety of vendors. Admission is free, and the event is open to all ages.

The inaugural Catstock in 2021 raised $4,000 for Finnland's Fosters, Chesebro said, with those funds earmarked to help with a rent increase. This year any money raised will help with ongoing expenses, he noted.

One Man. The Band rocks at last year’s first-ever Catstock fundraiser for Finnland's Fosters in Oneida. The band returns June 4, along with Spare Parts, Buffy and the Boyz, Rezenens and King Squiddy and the Sethlapods, for Catstock 2 in the parking lot across from the Cedar Street cat rescue.
One Man. The Band rocks at last year’s first-ever Catstock fundraiser for Finnland's Fosters in Oneida. The band returns June 4, along with Spare Parts, Buffy and the Boyz, Rezenens and King Squiddy and the Sethlapods, for Catstock 2 in the parking lot across from the Cedar Street cat rescue.

Founder Michele Finn said Finnland's Fosters started in 2018 and placed 312 cats in forever homes in 2019 followed by 262 in 2020 and 418 in 2021. The rescue shelter moved in January 2021 to its new location on Cedar Street in Oneida, where they currently house 56 cats there with another 18 in foster care.

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Donations will help them continue not only their placement of pets but also their programs for children, veterans, senior citizens and other groups, Finn noted. That help is invaluable in creating a refuge for cats in need, she said.

"With the outreach of community support, making animal rescue so much easier," Finn explained. "We as a small group cannot do this alone. Volunteers, donors and community participation helps those animals no longer feel helpless. Our haven makes them always feel welcome and wanted."

"They are a not-for-profit group and really work their tails off for their cats," Chesebro said. "I want to help out however I can."

Finnland's Fosters is at 149 Cedar St. in Oneida and is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Catstock 2 will take place in the parking lot directly across the street and Chesebro encourages concertgoers to stop in and maybe even pick out a cat for adoption.

For more information, find Finnland's Fosters on Facebook.

Mike Jaquays is the community news reporter for the Mid-York Weekly. Email him at mjaquays@gannett.com. 

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Catstock 2's music, food & vendors raise funds for Oneida cat rescue