Stilt-walkers add to Mardi Gras spectacle
Close encounters: Aliens invade the Grand Parade. Photo: Maria Polglase.
Aliens on stilts, jugglers, fire performers, bras sporting teeth and dead possums, and the drumming talents of 11-year-old Billy Bathgate helped to make last weekend’s Mardi Gras a real summer spectacle.
The pinnacle of the 12 hours of music and performance was the 6pm parade, led by the rhythmic and ever-colourful Grio percussionists and featuring mythical creatures, metallic costumes, masked revellers of all ages, unicyclists, and a boy leading a floating, jiggling taniwha.
Family entertainment included Sugra (Morley), a Christchurch-based juggler and local musicians Levity Beet and Mohua Sun, though the fierce heat that wilted the South Island last week (reportedly a flow-down from Cyclone Yasi) meant that afternoon crowds were smaller and few chose to join the Zumba dancing, preferring to lie in the shade.
“It was definitely a beach and river day, and the whale stranding occupied quite a few people, too,” said Mardi Gras organiser Dave Myall. “But over the 12-hour period I reckon we had 900 to 1000 people join in.”
Crowd favourites included the spectacular stilt-walkers – including Chachi Roden as the Alien Man, Campbell Stout and a Russian visitor.
“The marimbas were certainly a highlight for a lot of people,” said Dave. “They were extremely uplifting and high energy.”
The Mardi Bras competition was judged by Wellington fine arts student Abby Fuller, who has worked with Claire Prebble and Sarah Hornibrooke and “was herself the maker of a fine bra,” Dave added. The winner was Britta Schroeter, wearing her “Roadkill” creation—tyre-tracks over a dead pukeko and possum. Second place went to Jenny Bowker’s “Venus Booby Trap”, modelled by Joan Fleming, and third equal positions to bras by Indigo Wise and Kirsty van den Bemd (modelled by Krista Windle).
People stayed well into the evening to catch their favourite late performers, and Dave pronounced the event a great success.
“Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun.”
Maria Polglase
