Flying high

Don Brownridge loves to fly kites.

The 55-year-old from Toronto visited Thunder Bay for the 30th annual Kite Festival at Chippewa Park on Sunday. He’s flown kites for 25 years, ever since he was a child. He said he grew out of it for a while, thinking it was cool, but later in life rediscovered the joy that flying a kite brings.

"My in-laws gave me some kites before I was married and they were home made," Brownridge said. "I found a new fascination and it rekindled something and I realized I loved flying kites and it gave me something to do."

Brownridge, the president of the Toronto Kite Fliers, said he rekindled his passion for kites because of the various styles that are available. Some designs go back hundreds of years with different cultures making different types of kites. He travelled to Japan 10 years ago to meet fellow kite enthusiasts and to learn how to make their style.

He flew a sode kite, a traditional Japanese style kite that looks like a kimono, and featured Sebastian the crab from the Disney movie, the Little Mermaid. He said the bigger kites that he flies are easy to get up in the air but are expensive to make and buy.

"It becomes a grown up sport," he said laughing.

One of the best parts of flying the kites is being able to connect and get to know other people who have a similar passion for the hobby, he said.

Jim Kozak brought his four-year-old grandson Nicolas Silvaggio for the first time to the kite festival. He said he often heard about the festival at Chippewa Park but was never able to go before now.

"It’s nice to see something going before the summer starts," Kozak said. "When you have grandkids its fun to do that kind of stuff because it gets you out of the house."

Jean-Paul De Roover, Kite Festival coordinator, said the festival was a great way to kick off the summer season for events. Before the kite festival official opened at 1 p.m., more than 300 people had already arrived.

"It’s great to have such a longstanding event," De Roover said. "There’s a lot of people that have grown up coming to the Kite Festival and then they stop because kites weren’t cool anymore. Sure enough they have families of their own and then they are bringing that generation here."

Since the festival has run for so long, each year will have a specific theme to help make each Kite Festival unique, he said.