Winter Magic

Giant puppets invade Benson Park

First it was a giant owl, with a threemetre wing span and eyes as big as dinner plates. Then it was two 12- foot tall avatars, one in a baseball cap and the other in a plaid shirt, each bearing a striking resemblance to the human-sized members of a comedy duo known as Short Attention Spa. Yet far from fleeing in terror at the sight of these outsized denizens, there were smiles and applause from the fifty or so people who came out to Benson Park for the Department of Illumination’s Winter Magic event. Over the past few weeks, a number of family friendly art installations created by Tim Snyder and Nella Casson were placed in the park. “We used the park’s number one inhabitants, squirrels, as our motif for these installations. They have a number of QR codes on them so they link to a couple of songs that we commissioned, one from Annelise Noronha and one from Jennifer E. Brant, as well as to a couple of Haudenosaunee legends told by Jennifer Brant, and we even have one QR code that will take you to some Instagram filters by Chrissy Poitras as well,” said DoI creative director Krista Dalby. In addition to the plywood cutouts, there is also an illuminated installation to provide a bit of colour after dark.

The installations will remain in the park until March 15, but there were a few additional fun events scheduled on Saturday for the Family Day weekend. Visitors to the park were encouraged to bring blocks of coloured ice in various shapes to build a fanciful ice castle using a venerable tree stump—the casualty of a recent wind storm—as a base. There was music and hot chocolates and brownies from Picnic. And, of course, the owl. But the main event was the world premiere of Tall Attention Spa’s giant puppet improv comedy. These avatars of Lenny Epstein and Gavin North—built over several months by Krista Dalby—entertained with tales about bicycles, cats and hospital visits, as well as the Little Red Riding Hood story as imagined in a Star Wars universe. The occasional strong wind and blowing snow proved a bit of a challenge, and the cold weather was a complicating factor. As one of the duo said, “I have four hands and none of them work.” They gamely finished with a song, and received a warm round of applause. The theme of gratitude was the centre point of one of the art installations. The wire fence around the tennis court was adorned with over 100 messages of gratitude collected from County residents. “When times are tough, it’s important to reflect on what you are thankful for. The community submitted more than a hundred messages of gratitude, which we put on the fence,” said Dalby, who added that this installation complemented the painted park benches that were unveiled in the summer. “We love this park and I think it’s really important to use our public spaces and to embrace them as a gathering space where everyone is welcome.”

To listen to some of the stories and music, please visit soundcloud.com/user-246446278.