Have a look at a guest blog I did for Molly Jo about Doors Open yesterday.
On the last Sunday afternoon of July, I came back to Wellington Street to take in the exodus of one of the machines in the La Machine event from the Supreme Court. Kumo the giant spider left under a clear sky on the way to her final destination at the Canadian War Museum. Long Ma was to follow, making a stop at Victoria Island before the evening festivities. It wasn't just Kumo in this procession; raised platforms that followed her contained the musicians who were playing music during her walk. As you can see, the crowds loved it. It's quite an event to watch unfold- the operating crews are visible, but both of these machines also move in a way that looks entirely natural and makes you forget you're looking at a machine. Have a look at the video for this one, #6.
I did look at the video, William...wow, quite something!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a huge crowd! It's pretty impressive how well a machine this size is able to move. But then, looking at your photos, there are quite a few people at work, aren't there?
ReplyDeleteMust be an interesting ride!
ReplyDeleteÉ realmente fantástica esta aranha gigante.
ReplyDeleteUm abraço e boa semana.
Andarilhar
Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
O prazer dos livros
The audience looks pleased. Remind me, do they come every year, or is this the first?
ReplyDeleteJanis
GDP
Hello, wow that is a big spider. It would be a fun ride. Enjoy your day!
ReplyDelete@Linda: thank you.
ReplyDelete@Kay: there are.
@Halcyon: it would be.
@Francisco: thanks!
@Janis: this was the first time the company ever did this in North America. They usually operate in Europe. In our case, it was for the anniversary year.
...what an amazing sight.
ReplyDeleteIt looks so real. Scary real. I wonder if this has been used in the movies?
ReplyDeleteOttawa puts on some spectacular events.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, that video is something else.
ReplyDelete@Eileen: it really towered over the crowd.
ReplyDelete@Tom: that it was.
@Lowell: it felt like a movie unfolding right before you at times.
@Red: this one was a show stopper of an event. I'm glad we had it.
@Sharon: I was glad that I thought of taking videos for this event.
Wonderful! There are spiders around here that I imagine would love to see that giant spider.
ReplyDeleteThose machines are amazing.
ReplyDeleteHa! So COOL!
ReplyDeleteHave loved this series William. Was it a French group who were doing this? So enjoyed your videos, brilliant to see the action!
ReplyDeletegratuitous splendid events are a basic necessity.... pity any arachnophobia
ReplyDeleteVery cool and amazing. People look like they really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThis has to be the most amazing event to see, William! Fabulous!
ReplyDelete@Maywyn: I wonder what real spiders would make of this one.
ReplyDelete@Catalyst: they are!
@Cloudia: it was!
@Grace: yes, it's a French group. I'll add their home page into tomorrow's post.
@Julia: arachnophobes would not like this!
@Bill: they were!
@RedPat: it was fun.
That giant spider is both amazing and creepy at the same time!
ReplyDeleteHi William, I think all fellow bloggers have been amazed at this wonderful event you have photographed and shared with us.
ReplyDeleteIt has been so good to look at all of your photographs. You really do bring us some interesting posts, thank you.
Happy mid-week wishes
All the best Jan
Thanks for sharing more of these great photos William. That must have been an amazing sight.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun "parade." Others have already called it amazing and fantastic, so won't be redundant.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a scene from a sci-fi fantasy movie. Hope the spider doesn't runs away from its controllers!
ReplyDeleteRun! Big ugly spider!
ReplyDeletethat is so neat william! what a view from the top of one of those!
ReplyDeleteWhere is a leash? Is there any? ;)
ReplyDelete@Lois: definitely!
ReplyDelete@Jan: I was really looking forward to the comments on this series.
@Denise: I had a lot of fun with it.
@Mari: thank you!
@Nancy: it was a blast.
@Norma: a very big spider!
@Tanya: I wonder about the POV of the operators!
@Klara: no leash!