Go fly a kite.
Well, why not?
When my boys were in grade school in Gainesville, Florida they became infected with a bout of kite fever.
As a result we constructed diamond-shaped kites using the color Sunday comics from the newspaper glued on a balsa wood frame. Tails were made from an old sheet with sheet bows along the tail. A bunch of string wound around a piece of wood, of course we wanted to go high. And then lots of running in a big open field nearby produced LIFTOFF!
Quite exciting, right up until the moment the wind failed or a kite got tangled in tree branches. Oops.
So at some point their kite fever abated and we moved on to constructing the next big thing to go up in the sky – rockets.
Because that story is my only kite history you can imagine it was an absolute delight for me to attend the first ever kite festival on Saturday, June 19, 2019 at Babcock Ranch in Punta Gorda, Florida.
The wind was spotty and the kites were few but I have to say, kite flying has come a long way – not a comic section or a piece of balsa wood in sight.
Kites with multiple tails, different shapes like box kites, fighter kites, foil kites, animal shapes (birds and fish for example), fantasy shapes (think dragons)and all decked out in bright colors, made of nylon material, with kites having anywhere from one to four lines.
Take a running start
These days there are so many kite possibilities, but one constant remains – you still have to get a running start into the wind to get liftoff. Fun.
And getting started in kite flying is reasonable.
“Our starter kite, like a rainbow delta, is $15 and includes 300 feet of string,” said Joe Fala, co-owner with his wife Kathy of Windworks in Madeira Beach, Florida. Windworks was the kite vendor at the festival.
Finding a place to fly a kite is remarkably simple. Out in a field or on a beach, anyplace wide open where wind is a possibility.
There is of course the reality that someone is going to have to run the run getting the kite up in the air.
Fala said kite flyers avoid saying the “W” word – actually two “W” words – wind and weather. Neither is predictable, just show up and hope for the best.
Their store sponsors a local school kite club and mentors sixth, seventh and eighth graders.
Think kites are just for kids? Think again. Kites are good to go for all ages.
Go fly a kite anywhere
All over America, in fact all over the world (I’m guessing wherever there are open spaces) there are kite clubs, kite festivals and yes, serious kite competitions. The American Kiteflyers Association was founded in 1964. Their Website claims thousands of members in 25 countries but they don’t give actual numbers.
Here in Florida, for one example, every January the Treasure Island Kite Festival and Sport Kite Competition, of course held on the beach, draws people from all over the United States and beyond. The date for 2020 is Jan. 18-19, 2020. If you don’t want to wait that long there is a Veteran’s Day Fall Fly on Nov. 9-10, 2019. Both are on Treasure Island behind the Thunderbird Hotel. There is free flying competition and precision competition where flyers make their kites dip and swoop to music.
Amazing. Who knew?
Not me. It is a long way from the kitchen table, balsa wood and cut up newspapers to today’s super kites.
Go fly a kite this summer.
May the Wind be with you.
©2019 Lucy Tobias all rights reserved
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