If you live in Perth in Western Australia, you couldn’t have missed the buzz about The Giants back in February. For three days, giant marionettes walked the streets of the city with over a million people turning up to welcome them. I was excited just to see the Giants, but even more excited for the Little Girl Giant to finally receive the enormous picture book I helped out with.
On the Giants’ first day, my mum and I were squished into the crowd when we got our first glimpse of the Little Girl Giant.
As she continued down the road we dashed ahead to Wellington Square. She would be receiving her giant book there, and we had front row seats.
I didn’t get into the city on the second day, but my girlfriend and I braved the crowds on the final morning to farewell the Giants. The Little Girl and the Diver did a lap of Langley Park then were lifted by crane onto a barge. A flotilla escorted them down the river to Fremantle.
I’ve never seen such huge numbers of people in Perth. Normally I feel a bit overwhelmed in crowds, but the vibe there was good – everyone was in awe. It seemed that many adults became very child-like watching the Giants. I’ve heard that grown-ups were saying “she looked at me, the Girl Giant looked right at me!”. Many were waving as the Giants left. There was just something about these enormous puppets … despite the fact we could all see the cables moving their limbs, we suspended disbelief. To us, the Giants were real.
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