STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS The Roanoke Times

Noah Plocher, 3, of Union Hall, and his dad, Gordon, introduce themselves to a Cirikli Stilt Bird near the Taubman Museum of Art on Nov. 8.

You couldn't miss the Cirikli Stilt Birds at last weekend's opening of the Taubman Museum of Art. Twelve feet tall, graceful in the ungainly way some wading birds are graceful, they preened and strutted down Salem Avenue and Market Street well into the night, mesmerizing kids and adults alike.

Wherever they went, the cameras came out. At one point as the big birds gathered together on Market Street, there were 30 or 40 people crouched around them in a semicircle, with their cameras clicking away.

It turns out the bird puppets were one of two performing Cirikli groups, according to John Wolfslayer of the Richmond-based East Coast Entertainment, which booked them for the art museum event. "Cirikli" is from the Romany language of the Gypsies and means "bird."

The puppets in both groups were made by a French man who now lives in Florida, but learned his craft in Paris, Wolfslayer said. Each giant bird (actually, one looks like a butterfly) is made by hand. Wings operated by hidden strings open and close, and beaks go up and down.

The puppets are controlled by performers on stilts, which gives the illusion that they are being ridden. The birds are also attended by a watchful shepherd down at ground level, to prevent mishaps. Not only are their protruding tails fragile, but small children have a tendency to want to hug them around the legs, said Wolfslayer -- which can bring the performers crashing down.

"The whole costume is extremely fragile," he said. "They have to repair them constantly."

Asked about the history of stilt birds, Wolfslayer was a little cloudy. "I believe they originated way back when," perhaps as more conventional puppets, without the stilts, Wolfslayer said.

Wolfslayer said he suggested using the birds at the Taubman opening. "It felt like a great way to introduce the public to the incredible, unique and fascinating things the museum will provide to the community for many years to come."

For more information on the stilt birds, including booking information, visit eastcoastentertainment.com or call Wolfslayer at (800) 277-6874.

Arts festival No. 2

The second Roanoke City Arts Festival is now history, and like the first one, it had its ups and downs.

The festival, which took place last weekend, combined with the art museum opening for "arguably the biggest cultural weekend in the history of the region," opined festival manager Rick Salzberg. It included music, art exhibitions, theater, dance, a literary reading and the culinary arts.

Several of the events got rave reviews in this newspaper. Classicalmusic reviewer Seth Williamson called the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra's performance of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 "shatteringly powerful."

Jeff DeBell, writing about the play, "Doubt," said, "There were moments ... when I forgot I was watching a play." The play was staged by Hollins University and Virginia Tech, and was performed on Mill Mountain Theatre's Waldron Stage.

Other events could have been better attended, including the closing concert by Crystal Gayle and Saturday's performance by the James Piano Quartet, Salzberg said. He blamed the poor attendance at the quartet's concert on the Saturday evening time slot. "I blew the time," he said. He said the Gayle concert would have been better suited to the smaller Shaftman Performance Hall, but that hall was booked for Sunday night.

"Other than that, I guess we did OK."

The festival was originally planned for the first weekend of October, but the dates were changed to coincide with the opening of the art museum -- to the chagrin of some who had already planned October events.

Asked if the date change in retrospect had been a good thing, Salzberg said, "I think it was. ... We shared the stage at a significant event. Next year we'll be on our own."

The arts festival initially had no schedules or promotional materials at the art museum, which attracted some 10,000 people on opening day, Nov. 8.

"It was just a missing piece," said Salzberg, who brought some schedules to the museum's ticketing tent around 1 p.m., when the oversight was brought to his attention. "They were handed out with tickets, which was really cool," he said.

Salzberg said the festival's culinary arts exposition at the Culinary Institute at Virginia Western on Henry Street was very well attended. "There were times when you couldn't even turn around," he said.

Shakespeare redux

Mill Mountain Theatre is reprising last year's performance of "Shakespeare's R&J" this weekend. The play about students at an all-boys school trying to perform "Romeo and Juliet" will be performed on the theater's Waldron Stage at 2 p.m. today. Tickets are $15-$20, but students can get in for $10 beginning one hour before the performance. "It's a good play for college students," Mill Mountain's public and artist relations coordinator John Bryant said. 342-5740; www.millmountain.org