Whether it’s women’s, men’s or children’s clothing or pajamas that really did belong to cats, there will be a wide variety of clothing at the Cat’s Pajamas Clothing Exchange.
ARTS/West will host the clothing exchange at 5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday. Attendees will be able to take as many clothing items as they donate, and may purchase any additional clothing items for $1. Admission is $15 on Friday and $10 on Saturday.
This is the second annual fall clothing exchange hosted during the first weekend in November. ARTS/West also hosts a spring exchange in late March, which was established 10 years ago.
“It is definitely a lot of effort,” Emily Beveridge, the founder and head organizer of Cat’s Pajamas and a program specialist for ARTS/West, said.
People who bring items to donate before Friday will receive a golden ticket, allowing them to take as many clothes as they want. The hours to donate clothing are from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. The most current updates on hours are available on the event’s Facebook page.
Proceeds from the event will go to ARTS/West, which operates as the art branch of the city’s Arts, Parks and Recreation program. It offers facilities, resources and opportunities for artists and artistic groups in the area.
Volunteers from Athens assist with the event, as well as OU students. Chi Omega regularly volunteers with the ARTS/West program.
“I’d say it’s like 50/50,” Tessa Evanosky, an event organizer at ARTS/West and volunteer organizer for the Cat’s Pajamas clothing exchange, said.
Some students may be uninterested in donating because many clothes they would exchange were left at home, but Alexa Kryz, a sophomore studying communication, said she is interested.
Even members and organizers of ARTS/West will shop at the event to peruse the donations.
“There are a lot of really good clothes this year,” Evanosky said.
