From their vantage points above the crowds, Animal Cracker Conspiracy find their fit right in with at the Adams County Fair.

Bridget Roundtree and Iain Gunn make up San Diego-based Animal Cracker Conspiracy. The visual theater performers dress as spectacular giant puppets on stilts as they stroll around the 2023

Roundtree started Animal Cracker Conspiracy in 2006, bringing the giant puppet to life with live energy performances. Gunn had been performing before 2006 with local community circuses in San Diego.

"I started in the late 90s, performing circus with fire on stilts," Gunn said.

Gunn said he was a painter and just got into dance and stilts circus because he enjoyed moving his body.

"I needed to get it out of my head and start a creative act and start making my own costumes. We make all our own costumes," Gunn said.

Roundtree said they both have visual art backgrounds. She is a competitive gymnast, and performing on stilts wasn't a huge leap.

"I did visual art and literature in college, and then wasn't too big of a leap to go into circus aerials and stilt walking. With a background in gymnastics, it kind of sticks with you," Roundtree said.

Rountree said learning to walk on stilts demands good balance and body awareness; you must have a lot of core strength and keep doing it.

When they do not perform at the fairs, the duo works with a big theatre company.
"We designing all the topics and building them around main stage productions, so we like working on big projects," Gunn said.

"We performed with the Symphony this year in San Diego, bringing large-scale procession and giant puppets as they opened their redesigned Copley Symphony Hall. We work with a lot of different artistic organizations," Roundtree said.