Fort Simpson (June 27/03) - They'll be hard to miss. Standing 5.4 metres and 3.6 metres, two giant puppets will be front and centre at this year's Open Sky festival.

The behemoths will be used to tell the tale of four generations of Dene women.

It's one of the new twists on this year's Deh Cho arts and crafts showcase, to be held July 5-6 in Fort Simpson.

As best they can, puppet designers Odette Laramee and Elizabeth Hardisty will try to replicate traditional Dene clothing on the puppets.

From inside, it will take four people to operate the 5.4 metre puppet, which was little more than a plastic frame and a few assorted body parts as of last week. Laramee held up a cardboard hand half the size of her body to illustrate how enormous the leviathan will be. It's an ideal act for the shy performer because it offers a degree of anonymity, she noted.

Having worked on the project periodically since early June, Laramee said it's been a wonderful social experience.

While the puppets take form, the volunteers tell stories, legends and talk about their lives.

"We dream together, plan and share things that we hope might happen in the future," said Laramee, who lives near Nanaimo, B.C. and has been working with puppets for eight years. "It would be great to have more people come up (to help out)."

Local students have been involved in making various animal puppets such as a fox, bear, raven and a fish for their own performances.

Fort Simpson resident John Hazenberg stopped to admire the assembly of the giant puppets while passing through the recreation centre.

"I was so excited when I heard through the Open Sky Festival that they'd be coming here," Hazenberg said.

This year's festival will also offer workshops on willow furniture, business and art, film and video production, drama/theatre and carving.