{"id":19797,"date":"2017-07-31T06:24:38","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T10:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/?p=19797"},"modified":"2020-03-26T03:31:54","modified_gmt":"2020-03-26T07:31:54","slug":"la-machine-giant-dragon-and-spider-roam-streets-of-ottawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/2017\/07\/31\/la-machine-giant-dragon-and-spider-roam-streets-of-ottawa\/","title":{"rendered":"La Machine: Giant dragon and spider roam streets of Ottawa!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Long<\/a>

Long Ma the dragon-horse of La Machine. \u00a0Photo: James Morgan<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s described as street theater, but the actors are far from ordinary. La Machine made its North American debut in Ottawa this weekend. It was the latest special event to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary in the capital. La Machine comes from France and features a giant mechanical spider named Kumo and an even larger dragon-horse called Long Ma. From Thursday to Sunday, they roamed the downtown streets, attracting thousands of people and causing traffic gridlock.<\/p>\n

Before the Friday evening show began, Kumo was \u201cresting\u201d downtown, next to the Rideau Canal by the convention centre. Long Ma was in front of City Hall on Laurier Avenue. Soon after 8:00 pm, they each \u201cwoke up\u201d and amazed the crowd. The view from the Mackenzie King Bridge gave the opportunity to see both machines in action, walking through city streets and towering over people, cars, and buildings. I had vague images of H.G. Wells\u2019 War of the Worlds<\/em>, or on a more lowbrow level, those low-budget science fiction movies that TV stations used to show as cheap filler programming. La Machine was overall entertaining and intriguing.<\/p>\n