Thursday, February 18, 2016

The Bird Walkers

Aside from the ice sculptures, there are other things going on in Confederation Park and other sites during Winterlude. These two colourfully dressed stilt walkers- on stilt apparatus that had the look of elaborate skeletal birds- were around one day, walking around the Colonel By Fountain. They were accompanied by a drummer on foot, and they attracted quite a crowd- enough of a crowd that photography posed some challenges!

37 comments:

  1. Not just your average stilt walkers. These folks combined it with art. Very nice and very creative. Nice photos William. They became even better when I enlarged them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Different but not the weather for doing it, better on a sunny day

    ReplyDelete
  3. The people entertains itself and tries to entertain others.

    Tomás.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So flamboyant! What balance they have.. looks pretty cold William.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's something you don't see every day!

    ReplyDelete
  6. A special way to move on the stelts.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great act. It's sad that the weather was so grey and dark at the moment.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Stilt walking seems to be gaining in popularity. Your performers had musical talent and they put great effort into their makeup and costumes. A lot of work went in to making this happen. Glad you were able to capture them!

    Janis
    GDP

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Pat: thank you!

    @Bill: that is a drawback of our winter- so many grey days.

    @Tomas: they were entertaining!

    @Grace: they were quite well balanced.

    @Halcyon: certainly not!

    @Marianne: it is!

    @Jan: it was a bleak day.

    @Janis: they were so elaborate.

    ReplyDelete
  10. You don't see very many stilt walkers these days and your certainly don't see many dressed in such elegant clothing. I did see one a couple of years ago at a birthday party for a young girl who was dying of cancer. And I remember them from my youth.

    ReplyDelete
  11. They have beautiful clothes and masks !

    ReplyDelete
  12. That would have made me look twice, too.

    ReplyDelete
  13. love all the outfits, those colors are so bright against the very grey day. perfect moments!! too too cool! ( :

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a scene with all those performers. Incredible to see the stilt walkers, they have good balance obviously. I'll stick to walking with just my feet on the ground :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I can see why the stilt walkers would draw a crowd. They must be good as I think there would be ice and that could cause problems.

    ReplyDelete
  16. The stilt walkers are really good at what they are doing. They cheered and warmed up the cold place.

    ReplyDelete
  17. @Lowell: there were other stilt walkers- I wonder if they were the same pair, though their look was entirely different.

    @Karl: at least some of their look appears inspired by First Nations influences, particularly the drummer.

    @Deb: it was fun to see!

    @Beth: thank you!

    @Bill: they have very good balance!

    @Sharon: I tried stilts a couple of times as a kid. Never could get the balance of it all.

    @Red: I didn't notice any ice that day, but that would be a consideration.

    @Nancy: they certainly did.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Definitely something you don't see everyday.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Fun. I will never get how you walk on stilts... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. @VP: very strange!

    @Pat: you really don't.

    @Norma: I thought it was fun!

    @Ciel: it takes a lot of practice!

    @Tex: I thought so too.

    ReplyDelete
  21. They did well to remain upright with that crowd around.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Great stuff William but a little like ice carving I can't imagine how they do it...

    ReplyDelete
  23. Lovely photos looks like all had fun . Thanks for sharing , Have a good day !

    ReplyDelete
  24. Interesting. Those gloves on the drummer's hands are huge.

    ReplyDelete
  25. How fun! They must practice quite a bit to be able to maneuver in a crowd like that.

    ReplyDelete
  26. @Revrunner: they did!

    @Geoff: lots of practice.

    @Country Gal: thank you!

    @Mari: and no doubt warm.

    @Lois: I think so, yes.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Fun to see. Some folks like getting attention.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Gorgeous get-ups! Those are pretty exotic looking performers. It was no doubt a challenge to capture those shots...but can you imagine navigating a crowd like that on stilts??!! No thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  29. That's really fun! I wonder if I've seen them? We've seen a number at the various festivals. They must change their looks from time-to-time!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Such a delightful festive atmosphere!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Just amazes me that they can do that. Love these photos.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Lovely long legs "bird".
    Your weather looks just same as we have here.

    ReplyDelete
  33. @Linda: true!

    @Kay: I wouldn't have the skill!

    @Jennifer: that wouldn't surprise me.

    @EG: very much so.

    @Denise: thanks!

    @Orvokki: we get a lot of overcast days in the winter.

    ReplyDelete