Celebration of Cranes draws dozens to Palmer

PALMER — Mr. Miagi of “Karate Kid” fame isn’t the only one teaching the benefits of the “crane technique.” An impromptu class of yoga beginners Saturday found the discipline’s version of the technique made famous by the 1980s hit movie is difficult to master.

Visiting the Palmer Museum and Visitor Center for the third annual Celebration of Cranes, certified yoga instructor Erin Kessler had adults and children twisting and turning under sunny skies. While some seemed engrossed in their own personal games of “Twister,” all were learning different bird-themed yoga techniques.

“We’re learning the bird poses,” Kessler said. “We did pigeon and crow. I showed them the crane, but it’s really challenging. Most of the bird poses in yoga are arm-standing poses, so they’re a little bit challenging and fun. Young kids are usually good at them because they can stand on their heads like nothing.”

Sponsored in part by Valley Arts Alliance, Celebration of Cranes is an annual festival dedicated to the migratory bird that has the Valley on its annual radar. It’s also an opportunity to celebrate crane-inspired art, said VAA President Carmen Summerfield, who’s also a member of Mat-Su Birders.

“I remember the first time I saw cranes here, I didn’t expect that,” she said. “The celebration started with an idea three years ago to do a crane festival here.”

Along with education about cranes and other bird species, the celebration includes a crane-inspired art exhibit featuring dozens of pieces from local artists. Some of the more striking examples are metal sculpture created by Pat Garley. He created an aluminum wall hanging of cranes, mirrored by their dark shadows, and a large steel crane standing sculpture.

“I really like this,” Summerfield said of Garley’s aluminum piece. “They’re both really neat.”

One of the more striking works is a giant origami crane outside the Palmer Museum. Standing about 4 feet high, the bird was folded to life by Summerfield and her husband out of a 10-foot square of paper. She admitted the folding was a challenge.

“Well, my husband and I folded that — and we’re still married, so that’s good, right?” she said. “It was hard. We cleaned off a place in the house and actually it didn’t take long after I figured out how to do it.”

Those not inclined to make a giant paper crane could do much smaller versions at a special table where volunteers were teaching the art of creating origami cranes.

One of the volunteers was Shunji Ninoyu, who teaches Japanese at Colony High School. Ninoyu said he’s been dabbling with origami all of his life and said he’s is always open to learn something different.

Early Saturday afternoon, the Colony teacher was deep in concentration trying to fold a paper iris. “But I messed it up,” he said.

Across the table, one of Ninoyu’s students, Paul Bierman, was folding a paper snail.

“Sensei asked if I could come and help since we’ve done (paper cranes) in class before,” he said.

Why a snail when the day was all about cranes?

“Because cranes eat snails,” Bierman said. After a slight hesitation he added, “Well, actually, I don’t even know if that’s true. It’s a fact I made up. They can be natural enemies, for all I know.”

Birchtree Charter School first- through third-graders had the most colorful homage to cranes at the exhibit. They painted vibrant pictures on 11-by-17-inch paper, including several that seem to show cranes in death struggles with crabs.

“I think these are really neat,” Summerfield said of the youngsters’ artwork. “They’re pretty good, too.”

Along with the paintings was a three-dimensional work featuring blue and white cranes made out of wax. Students used toothpicks for legs.

“I thought this was really creative,” Summerfield said. “I like that it’s 3-D art as well.”

Along with celebrating the flocks of cranes that migrate here (there are more than one), Summerfield said the celebration is also a opportunity to teach visitors and residents how to appreciate the birds without impacting their natural routines.

The best advice, she said, is that if you want to get close to a crane, use binoculars or a long photographic lens.

“Also, you don’t want to feed them, that’s never a good idea,” she said. “A lot of times it’s funny how airports attract birds. There are a few at the Palmer Airport that hang out there and they’re used to cars driving by. So, you’re not really intruding there, and it’s perfect because you don’t have to get out of your car.”

Merle Stewart and Nancy Wade, volunteers at the Alaska WildBird Rehabilitation Center in Houston, echoed that advice. They were at the festival with a few of their feathered friends to provide education about local wild birds.

The center has a crane, but it was already booked for another gig on Saturday. The women were still a hit with a short-eared owl, northern saw-whet owl, rave, magpie and red-tailed hawk.

The center’s crane is an example of what can happen when they get too close with humans, Stewart said.

“It had been imprinted somehow and people were calling up and saying, ‘hey, will you come get this crane? It just walked into my kitchen,’” she said. “We tried, but it wouldn’t migrate out with other cranes.”

“We tried to release it into a flock of other cranes,” added Wade. “But this one stood by us like he was saying, ‘When are we going back to the center?’”

One of the main mistakes those who appreciate cranes make is feeding them, Wade said, especially near and around where people live.

“They go through these phases where they’re impressionable and they can imprint,” she said. “Once they’re imprinted, they’re imprinted for life.”

But from a safe distance, the annual crane migration is cause to celebrate in the Valley, they said.

And if you feel up to the challenge, Kessler is happy to teach anyone how to execute the “crane pose.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.