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At the annual Convention of the American Kite Flyers Association in Ocean Shores, Washington, 20 giant octopus kites flew all at one time, setting a new World Record. The revious record was 19 such kites aloft. Each kite weighs about 35 pounds and cost $4500.00. 

The convention ran from Oct. 1- Oct. 7th. It featured competitions in dual and quad line sport kites, fighter kites, kite making, mass ascensions, workshops and seminars for participants. About 350 people attended all or part from almost every State and many foreign countries. Delegates came from Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain, Canada, Guatemala, and more. Total members in the AKA are about 3600. Ask us about membership and the benefits, like discounts on kites at particpating kite stores. (more…)

The Granddaddy of all kite festivals in North America, the Long Beach kite festival is a whole week of kites, kites, kites. Officially known as the 2006 Washington State International Kite Festival, it is seven full days of kite flying starting Monday Aug. 21 and terminating around 4 PM the following Sunday. For example:

Monday was Kite Trains, arches and multiline stacks, and fighter kites.

Tuesday team day, tubes, rokkaku battles, and Ben Franklin events.

Wednesday Paint Me Patriotic along with Senior fly, fighters, rokkakus and indoor kites at night,

Thursday Handcrafted Competition, quilted kites, more fighters, and more indoor,

Friday included mass ascensions, sport kites, more fighter kites, Ft. Worden made kite fly, and the highlight of the day. The I-quad Revolution team wowed the crowd with synchronized flight of 6 Quads. It was amazing. John Baressi and crew barely had time to work out the moves together the night before. It was so incredible to watch. And they flew at days end in high wind. All this followed by the cocktail party at the World Kite Museum, and the unveiling of the Hall of Fame. (more…)

Tom from Highline Kites does a great job of putting on a very nice festival in Bereley. Normally working out of his mobile kite shop, maybe the smallest kite shop in America, he draws some incredible combinations of kite flyers and enthusiasts to the festival. Tom is the kite ambassador of Cesar Chavez Park, next to the Berkeley Marina. The park was a garbage dump, rescued and made into a wonderful walking, kite flying, dog walking, and bird watching park. The wind off of the San Francisco Bay creates sufficient and continuous wind. This year it was favorable weather and wind, even if a little overcast Sat. morning, warming throughout the day. The views from the park of the Bay and the bridges was post card perfect.

For me the drawing card was the Hamamatsu, Japan delegation who assembled and flew the huge Machijirushi traditional paper and bamboo kites. Their thirty two line bridle, one half inch main rope, and twenty foot bamboo spars give new meaning to make your own kite out of paper and sticks! Each kite was paraded around, while horns blew, drums thumped, and the delegation acted out a mini version of their annual kite festival, which back in Japan would be complete with 170 teams, and full scale kite battles for the last 448 years! Here we caught a taste of that traditional celebration without having to travel to Japan and without the crowd of 1.5 million people. (more…)