3rd Club Fly of 2005 - June 26th - Latest Club Kiting News

Vol. 7-2005 June 21st:

3rd Club Fly of 2005 - Sunday, June 26th at Lakeview Park, Port Colborne

Check your lines, bring your kites and chairs - it is going to be a great time in the sky! Join your fellow kiters and let's raise some colour as summer is officially here. The flying starts when you get there. Most kiters are there from noon to 4:30 pm. We will have the new club canopy in place to provide some shade and a place to gather. We also have some club logo hats and shirts left. A few special orders have also been placed for delivery in time for our Canal Days kite festival.

Canal Days Festival Planning:

We are fast approaching the dates of the 13th Annual Canal Days Kite Festival.

Saturday evening, July 30th - Night Fly: We start the evening by setting up the field with barrier tape and road barriers. That part begins at 6:30 pm and we need as much help as possible to make it all go quickly.

As soon as it gets dark we will launch our kites for the night fly. This year we will have many additional lights to emblazon the kites. We have ten battery powered spots and will add two generator driven professional spot lights that will definitely make this event better than ever. Once again Jim and Barb Gibson from Cleveland OH (home club: OSEK) will make the trek and will be bringing three reflective trains (that's one more than in previous years and the new one was built especially for our Canal Days Night Fly!) In addition, we hope to have a fourth reflective train built by some members in our own club! Any kites will do and we will have some additional reflective tape and some lights to help adorn them. This will be one of the best night flying events in Ontario.

We expect a huge crowd since the Car Show organizers will be starting their Canal Days Cruise Parade from the "Ice Box" snack shop on the east side of the park at 8:00 p.m. This event draws about a thousand spectators who usually turn their attention to the kites once the cars are gone and the kites take to the night sky.

Sunday, July 31st - The Kite Festival:

This is the 13th annual festival and it has grown by leaps and bounds since 1993. Sarting with only eight local kite flyers, the event has grown to nearly 100 visiting flyers who have a wonderful time and amaze the crowds with the best in kites, kite flying skills and special events. Flyers attend from seven Ontario clubs and three American clubs to revel in the fun of being together to celebrate the sky and join in the kite flying comeraderie. At the end of the event we will again host our visitors and their families with a free barbeque, awards and draws of kites and kite related items. Once again, this year's grand prize (free to any of the club flyers who register and stay for the barbeque) is a custom kite by Eric Curtiss and Anne Sloboda of Boreal Kites in Sparta, ON.

Monday, August 1st - Kids-n-Kites in the Park:

Once again we will provide free kite making materials to children from ages 5 through twelve who are accompanied by a parent. We have secured the pavillion in the park as our kite making location. All materials to make and fly a sled kite will be provided along with helpers from our club and a few community volunteers as well. This is a great event that brings many smiles to kids and parents. It is our way of including the community in our kite festival. Please join us for about 90 minutes to help the kids with their kites. We have streamlined our process and it works well! Over 100 kite kits will be ready for the event. Thanks to Mary Kort for meticulously cutting the sled sails!

More news soon!