Clintonville’s otherworldly Walhalla Ravine feels distant from the city neighborhoods above. Most days, you’ll find joggers and bicyclists traveling along the road. You might even spot a deer tucked among the trees.
But if you’re really lucky, you’ll see the ravine’s most famous resident: Wanderin Joe.
“I've always wanted to see Joe. He showed himself on my birthday for the first time. So, I felt very privileged to meet him," said Jay Ross.
Ross was one of a few hundred community members who gathered at Whetstone Park in Clintonville on Saturday to celebrate the adventurous cat.
Joe is the color of an orange creamsicle. He has one bad ear and looks a bit like he's always scowling. His personality is anything but grumpy, though. In fact, he's so loved that residents of the Columbus neighborhood affectionately deemed Joe the "Mayor of Clintonville." He's also an honorary staff member at the local elementary school.
At Joe Fest on Saturday, cutouts of Joe’s face hang from the pavilion. Children scribbled on Joe coloring pages. Volunteers from a cat shelter handed out Joe Fest buttons and a bluegrass band kept the vibes good.
Festival organizers even unveiled a chalk portrait of Joe, drawn by a fan who couldn't make the event.
Joe earned his fame, in part, on the Facebook page Wanderin Joe the Ravine Cat. It was through that page that Michelle Abate first suggested a get-together for Joe enthusiasts.
“The world is kind of hard right now and, you know, here's a great community moment that's bringing everybody together and it's a source of joy, and I thought let's, you know, amplify the joy and let's meet as a community to share our love for Joe."
Abate originally planned a small, informal gathering in Joe's beloved Walhalla Ravine, but it quickly became clear that the group would need to put on something more formal. Someone got a spreadsheet going, they raised a little money, and had some custom decorations made. Joe Fest was born.
"It's a little hard to wrap one's heads around it. It appeals to my sense of the absurd and the wonderful," said Patti Liszkay, who was new to the Joe-obsession. "It's just sort of a bipartisan get together in honor of a cat. I mean, it's gentle. It's nice.”
Some people donned cat ears for the festivities. Ross, who does graphic design on the side, wore his custom Joe t-shirt, featuring a photo of the cat and the words, "Take me home, C'ville roads." He passed out stickers that read, "Joexist," a play on the popular coexist design that promotes religious tolerance.
Several actual cats attend with their humans, including Monkey, another internet-famous Columbus cat known for wearing sunglasses.
The festival would not have been complete, however, without an appearance from the man of the hour himself. Joe greeted his public from a large cage, sniffing hands and accepting treats and head scratches.
Joe’s human dad, Nick Fancher — who had nothing to do with the Facebook page or the organization of the festival— found the whole thing a bit crazy. Neither he nor his ex-wife were consulted on the festival's date, but Fancher carved an hour out of a busy day to pick up the cat and bring him to the park.
Fancher understands why people love Joe.
"He's precocious. Like, I swear he was an explorer in another lifetime," Fancher said.
Fancher’s family has had Joe for about a decade. They realized early on that they couldn’t keep him inside. So, they embraced his sense of adventure.
“We would take family walks and he would just trot behind us and then he would run ahead of us and then let us catch up," Fancher said.
Joe has showed up at weddings and memorial services. He's been "adopted" half a dozen times by well-meaning people who didn't know he already had a home.
Some of his escapades have been more daunting than others. He spent six months as a barn cat in Delaware County after someone mistook him for a stray.
Joe has also been hit by a car, but Fancher said he was back to jumping fences within weeks.
“There’s always that danger of when he goes out that he won't come back. But it's like, it's impossible to keep him in and it kind of begs the question, would he be happy if we did?” Fancher said.
So, Joe makes his regular visits to Clintonville Elementary, where he is now included in the yearbook. Sunday, he ran part of a 10k race between Clintonville and Grandview. And he continues to lounge in neighbors’ yards.
“One day, I'm sure there'll be a movie about him," Fancher joked.
That day may be sooner than Fancher realizes. Local documentarians Ian James Milheim and Justine Hope have already been interviewing Joe’s biggest fans for their upcoming doc, “Joe Public.”
Milheim said he's spoken to people who say Joe was the first person they met when they moved to the neighborhood.
"People are attracted to him and how gregarious he is," Hope said.
"He allows himself to be known more than most cats, I would say," Milheim added.
Milheim thinks that Joe and Joe Fest embodies the idea of keeping Columbus a little bit weird.
"This is absurd, in the best possible way. It's – it's like a local cryptid. That's what I've heard the most," Milheim said.
Fancher knows there’s just no reining in Joe — and there’s no stopping the community that loves him.
"People obviously feel a connection with him, and they're gonna make art, and they're going to make festivals, and they’re gonna make pages with or without us, you know. So, we're just lucky to be his caretakers," Fancher said.
Joe Fest organizers said they'd love to hold the event again next year.
As for Joe, he's going to keep on wandering.
