AUSTINTOWN — Even though Larry and Curly weren’t around, what Moe may have lacked in slapstick comedy and farcical talent, he made up for in sheer cuteness.

“We’re all foster-based. Cats go to foster homes until they’re adopted,” said Leah Beatty, who founded the Furrever & After Cat Sanctuary, as she cuddled with Moe, a 3-month-old feral rescue kitten.

Her next goal is to have a brick-and-mortar location for the sanctuary, which will get a financial boost toward that end, courtesy of Sunday’s Christmas in July Outdoor Art Market at Cafe Rose and Sarah’s Ceramic Studios on Mahoning Avenue. The two next-door businesses partnered to host the art market.

“We always look for local people to support,” Sarah Fenton-Niehorster, who owns Sarah’s Ceramic Studios, said, adding that all money raised from the basket raffle goes to Furrever & After.

Echoing a similar sentiment was Leah Sakacs, who, along with Amanda Evans, co-owns Cafe Rose. Sakacs was at a recent Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber luncheon, where she learned about the cat sanctuary and wanted to assist, she said.

Last year, she helped raise about $350 for Buster’s Brigade, which works to keep pets healthy and out of animal shelters, and wants to give a boost to nonprofit entities that are “getting their feet on the ground,” Sakacs said.

About 20 artisans, bakers and other vendors were part of the four-hour gathering, along with the basket raffle.

A goal was to raise at least $1,000 for Furrever & After, a nonprofit, foster-based facility founded in 2020 that offers medical support and education to animal companions, Beatty said. In addition, the sanctuary works with cats that have neurological disabilities and other special needs, she noted.

Furrever & After also has a trap, neuter and return program in which feral cats are captured, neutered and taken back to their original colonies. The TNR effort is intended to reduce the population of unwanted cats and spread of disease, she said.

Such a program is ongoing at a Warren mobile home park, where more than 50 cats live, Beatty added.

Among the vendors was Tom Pugh, who, along with his fiancee, Krista Rouse, started Youngstown-based Pugh’s Pretzels in December 2023.

“We do all of these one by one and use a lot of toppings so the pretzels will be the way I would want to eat them,” Pugh said, adding that such additions include M&M’s, as well as pieces of Heath candy bars and Oreo cookies. “We don’t go generic with anything.”

Intricacy is another ingredient Rouse uses to top the delicacies, and that includes a pair of tweezers to place some of the individual sprinkles as toppings, Rouse said, adding that other creations resemble Good Humor bars.

The business caters to a variety of special occasions, such as Valentine’s Day, a baby’s first birthday party, weddings and graduation parties, Pugh added.

“This is my third year doing shows,” Michael Janosko, who co-owns Burning Oaks Woodworking of Boardman, said.

He uses a customization technique called a computerized numerical control with a router to carve some pieces of locally sourced hardwoods that include maple, walnut, hickory and cherry, said Janosko, who was among the vendors at the third annual Irish Festival, where he received an invitation to be part of Sunday’s fundraiser.

His specialty items include pieces of engraved slate, wooden cutting boards, magnetic bottle openers and whiskey smokers, the latter of which is one of his top sellers.

A desire to assist the cat sanctuary and rescue also was among the reasons he wanted to set up shop at the art market, Janosko said.

Besides selling a colorful medley of decorative balls and door hangings, among other things, Jennifer Hallden’s goal for being one of the Christmas in July’s vendors was to support Furrever & After and, by extension, animal rescues and the community as a whole, she said.

“If we’re going to do a day event like this, we want to support nonprofits,” Hallden, who founded a business called Bits ‘n’ Bubbles, said.

She enjoys occasionally patronizing garage and holiday clearance sales, then repurposing certain items she buys, Hallden added.

Hallden also is an advanced practitioner with Ease into Balance, a Youngstown-based center that works with those who have chronic pain, cranial problems and trauma.

Furrever & After Cat Sanctuary is accepting monetary donations. To make a contribution, call 330-302-2885, or go to www.furreveraftercats.org.