Friday night, the Dragon Knights stilt show company plunged the Union Terrace into a mythical, interactive world, as part of the annual Madison World Music Festival. Dressed as a giant bird (named Gryphon), a flamingo (Corto), a dragon (Baraka), and a dragonfly, the performers danced, ran, and wandered all while balancing on trick pole stilts. Perhaps the most entertaining aspect of the show was the costumes themselves. The creatures looked like something out of a Peter Jackson film, veritable wild beasts that could take off into the air any second if their riders were not poised firmly upon their backs. The riders controlled their mounts with poise and grace; simply watching them stride around the terrace regally was enough to cause awe and wonder.

I was lucky enough to have the dragon’s manipulated head pass right by where I was standing like some strange machinimal out of some fictitious steampunk era. The effect that this had on me was amazing. My heart started beating faster, my stomach dropped, and I got that feeling you get when you witness a deer by the side of the road or some other wildlife rarity. This was a special sighting of some new creature that no one had ever discovered before.

The whole crowd, but namely the children, loved every minute of the show. These entertainers (who also put on stilt shows throughout Europe and Asia) really brought a valuable element to the Madison World Music Festival. Their show, combined with sailboats traversing rough Mendota in the background, hundreds of people cramming the terrace on distinctive, colorful chairs, and the stately Memorial Union behind them, made quite the scene. Only in Madison, folks, only in Madison.