The cupcakes have been ordered, the decorations have been up and the kids have been buzzing.
After months of preparation, the workers at As soon as Upon a Time Bookstore in Montrose have been all set for his or her greatest occasion of the yr: Pippi Longstocking, the resident cat on the nation’s oldest youngsters’s bookstore, was turning 10 years outdated.
The one hitch? The visitor of honor was dozing on the ledge above the shop’s entrance door.
Pippi’s favourite spot at As soon as Upon a Time is a ledge above the entrance door the place she typically sleeps through the day.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Occasions)
As soon as Upon a Time’s proprietor Maureen Palacios envied the slumbering cat. “I didn’t get any sleep last night,” Palacios mentioned as she flitted about, making last-minute house changes to accommodate an anticipated 100 company — virtually double final yr’s attendance.
At her previous events, Pippi all the time descended from her perch in time for the birthday festivities. However throughout this go-round Sunday, Palacios was in full panic mode because the cat minimize it nearer than ever.
Pippi, a dilute calico-tabby combine, took up residence at As soon as Upon a Time in 2015. Her feline predecessor, Kitty Mama, was a tough act to comply with, Palacios mentioned.
“I’ve had cats my whole life,” the bookstore proprietor mentioned, “and none of my cats would ever make the cut to come and be nice and gentle and all that, [but] that’s how Kitty Mama was.”
After Kitty Mama died, Palacios nervous she’d by no means exchange her. However after consulting with Pasadena Humane, which promised to place its best behaviorists on the job, her fears have been assuaged. The shelter provided a couple of choices, however as soon as Palacios laid eyes on Pippi, it didn’t even really feel like making a alternative.
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“She was 9 months old and just literally calm and sweet and not skittish whatsoever,” Palacios mentioned.
She was good.
On any given weekday, the chorus “Where’s Pippi?” will probably be recited a dozen instances over by As soon as Upon a Time’s pint-size guests. When enterprise is sluggish sufficient, the cat will give company a tour of the store or perhaps a e book suggestion.
Chloe Oh, 11, pets Pippi, who’s perched atop the bookstore’s checkout counter throughout storytime.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Occasions)
Pippi is the bookstore’s worker of the month each month, though not too long ago one other worker prompt they as an alternative give the accolade to a canine, “because Pippi’s been bad.”
Naughty habits however, Pippi is a fan favourite who has basically grow to be synonymous with As soon as Upon a Time. “She’s a bit of an institution here,” mentioned Laura Festen, a longtime bookstore patron and native instructor.
Festen mentioned the shop for her is sort of a second residence, and “a cat just makes any home a better place.”
Occasion attendees participated in a scavenger hunt to seek out 9 variations of Pippi, together with a Roaring Twenties Pippi, hidden all through As soon as Upon a Time.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Occasions)
Drew Daywalt, creator of the bestselling youngsters’s e book “The Day the Crayons Quit,” added that as unbiased bookstores combat to remain alive, a bookstore pet just isn’t solely a technique to heat up the house, but additionally a device for drawing enterprise.
“I think Maureen is a genius for having a kitty cat birthday party, because, look!” Daywalt mentioned, gesturing to the gang of occasion attendees who couldn’t assist however bump elbows as they moved in regards to the retailer. Many of the afternoon, each the shop’s checkout strains have been open.
Within the hour earlier than Pippi’s occasion, youngsters scoured the room on a scavenger hunt to seek out 9 Pippis, donning disguises from a Dodgers jersey to a Nineteen Twenties flapper costume. Some dad and mom tagged alongside, whereas others hugged the bookshelves lining the room. All of the whereas, Pippi savored her magnificence sleep, and Palacios contemplated grabbing a contingency ladder to retrieve her.
At 2 p.m. on the dot, Palacios formally welcomed the company, packed into the bookstore like sardines, and ready for her basic occasion kick-off: story time (cat-themed, in fact).
However earlier than she may start her dramatic studying, Pippi — “diva” that she is, in Palacios’ phrases — stole the present.
“Did you see my heart come back down when she finally made an appearance?” mentioned Maureen Palacios, proprietor of As soon as Upon a Time Bookstore.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Occasions)
Rising from her slumber, the cat leaped right down to the checkout counter, the place she posed as if for a royal portrait. As a refrain of “Pippi!” erupted throughout the room, youngsters sitting criss-cross applesauce on the ground hopped up onto their knees to get a peek. The extra emboldened made for the checkout counter, hoping to pet the cat.
Palacios herself cheered on the sight of the birthday woman. However as soon as her delight settled into reduction, she gently bade the younger ones to return to their seats.
“We are going to let Pippi do her thing,” Palacios informed the kids. “She is the star.”
Because the bookstore proprietor carried on together with her studying of Brendan Wenzel’s “They All Saw a Cat,” a lot of the youngsters behaved, whereas a couple of strays close to the entrance inched nearer and nearer to Pippi. One in every of them saved her eyes glued to Palacios as she reached sneakily for the cat’s speckled fur.
After story time, choose occasion company introduced their submissions to the writing contest immediate: “What does Pippi do at night in the bookstore?”
One visitor posited that the cat intercepted meat deliveries to close by eating places, whereas one other prompt she attended a neighborhood underground “catsquerade.”
Megheti Feghali, 6, holds her writing contest entry for Pippi the cat’s tenth celebration. Her selfmade e book informed the story of Pippi discovering her mom in a fortress.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Occasions)
As soon as Upon a Time Bookstore proprietor Maureen Palacios reads Megheti Feghali’s writing contest entry about Pippi’s journey to seek out her mom.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Occasions)
Megheti Feghali, 6, chronicled in a selfmade image e book Pippi’s epic journey to reunite together with her cat mom.
“Pippi saw a castle,” Palacios narrated as Feghali’s story drew to an in depth, “but she didn’t know what a castle is.”
“The end,” Feghali delivered her punch line as she learn the story for a smaller group some time later. As she closed her hand-stapled five-page manuscript, the younger creator chuckled to herself.
“She’s a little comedian,” Feghali’s mom, Tsoleen Feghali, mentioned. The Tujunga residents are regulars on the bookstore. On the times Pippi is asleep upon their arrival, Megheti Feghali begs her mom to remain till the cat wakes up.
When the 6-year-old heard about Pippi’s celebration, her mom mentioned, “She wanted to be a part of it.”
Pippi the cat eats her tuna cake on a silver platter as she celebrates her tenth birthday.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Occasions)
Eventually, the time got here to sing “Happy Birthday.” Detached to the serenade in her honor, Pippi celebrated by gorging down her tuna cake, which had been special-ordered from Andersen’s Pet Store throughout the road and actually introduced to the cat on a silver platter.
Then, as swiftly as she’d arrived, Pippi scaled the bookshelves and resumed her submit above the door.
Pippi paraphernalia graced each nook of As soon as Upon a Time through the cat’s tenth celebration.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Occasions)
Ultimately, Jessica Palacios, Maureen Palacios’ daughter and supervisor of As soon as Upon a Time, estimated the occasion had drawn greater than 150 attendees, from loyal Pippi followers to passersby who questioned, “What did we walk into?”
Whoever they have been and nonetheless outdated, each Palacios ladies mentioned it warmed their hearts to see so many individuals of their beloved bookstore.
If throwing cat birthday events is what it takes to maintain them coming, Maureen Palacios mentioned she’s completely OK with that.
