Dee Brown was on Facebook when a notification popped up in her feed. It was a link to her friend Cat Lambert’s Facebook page, spotlighting a picture she had posted almost a year ago.
“It was a little post with a kitty, about how angels may suddenly appear to you when you least expect them. And that was literally her last post on Facebook, and then she suddenly became an angel amongst us. We can’t let people forget that she’s still our angel,” Brown says.
Shining light
Lambert was a shining light for the Toledo scene, with her website WherestheCat.com spotlighting area events and bringing members of the artistic community together since 2009. Her influence and love is still being felt, eleven months after she was slain in her Rossford home. (Her husband, Daniel, pleaded guilty to her murder and was sentenced to life in prison.)
To help keep Lambert’s memory and legacy alive, Dee Brown will host the first C.A.T. (Collective Art Tribute) Fest on May 14 and 15 at Delightful Art with Dee, her art gallery and performance space on N. Michigan Street.
“Cat was everyone’s best friend. Everybody loved her. She genuinely was one of the people that I loved most in this whole world,” Brown says. “She was fabulous. She was just, like, my heart. And she put so much into Toledo; she made me believe in Toledo so much.”
Collaborative community
The two–day festival will feature musical performances from 18 different acts (including local favorites like Chris Shutters, Ryan A. Roth and Orlando Finelli) and activities for all ages, – from a “Pretty Princess Art Class” for kids to a wine tasting accompanied by Brent Beggs on piano.
By casting such a wide net, Brown explained, she hoped the event would capture some of that sense of collaboration and community that Lambert’s work inspired in the area’s artists.
“I think that she would be very proud of the way that the artists and the musicians are reaching out and working together willingly and happily to put on the show,” Brown said.
Never forget
Brown hopes the event will raise awareness of domestic violence by throwing a party for her friend, – an angel, taken too soon, who continues to inspire the creative minds of the Glass City.
“I just want people to never forget, because she loved them. And that there’s always going to be something that can be done to make life better in Toledo.”
Noon-midnight | Saturday, May 14 & 11am-8pm | Sunday, May 15.
Delightful Art with Dee |137 N. Michigan St.
delightfulart.org | Free | donations encouraged.