Plenty of strings attached

Flying a kite is a form of expression but mostly just a good time, says a New York flier.

The outdoor kite festival celebrated its 30th anniversary at Chippewa Park on Sunday. From noon until about 4 p.m. families and friends of all ages flew kites of different sizes and colours. The event, sponsored by the city of Thunder Bay, offered a free shuttle service every 40 minutes from Intercity, City Hall and the Brown and Frederica street transit stops.

A few guest kite flyers from Toronto, Kitchener and New York demonstrated how to fly the bigger kites. Thom Shanken, from Waterloo, NW, said he never stopped flying a kite since he was a young boy. He participated in last year’s festival and decided to come and join in the fun again.

"So we can call this an international event I’m kind of representing the United States," Shanken said. "Kiting is better in Canada. It’s a fantastic place to be and I love the people here."

A member of the New York Kite Enthusiasts and Toronto Kite Fliers, Shanken said he loves to fly, which is why he became a pilot. Shanken made some of his kites from hand and decorated them so they could be as colourful as possible.

"Kite flying is cheaper than piloting," he joked. "But kites are so much more: it’s history, it’s literature, it’s art. You can relate just about anything to kites."

Shanken added that winds at around 20km/h at perfect for flying a kite.

Shanken said the essential point to any kite festival is to have fun and enjoy a family activity.
Still too young to fly a kite herself, Ryalie, 3, watched her mother Kerrie McCullough try to make the kite soar into the air.

McCullough said they made the butterfly kite at the festival last year. She said she’s glad to have a festival that her daughter can have fun at and be social.

"I support local events," McCullough said. "It’s definitely great coming out to see family and friends. It’s nice to see everyone in the community come to thise kinds of events especially during these hard times. Flying a kite is kind of a bonus."

Barb Trojan helped her husband put together a few kites for their niece and nephew. Her first time at the festival, Trojan said she enjoyed the event and come again next year.

"I’ve never flown a kite so I thought I would bring the kids," Trojan said.

Adding to the festivities were four familiar faces. Dorothy Gale, the Scarecrow, the Lion and the Tin-Woman paid a visit to Chippewa Park to entertain some of the families who attended.

"I decided to come out and help," said Megan Leikkari, who played the Scarecrow. "Kids like seeing us. They’re chasing us around and all the parents think its funny. Flying a kite is a fun thing to do and get people involved."

Jean-Paul De Roover, coordinator for the Kite Festival, said he expected around 5,000 people to come to the event. The all ages event had rides, food and opportunities for families to build their own kites from scratch.

De Roover said he saw unity when he looked up at the kites flying in the sky. The visitors from out of town flying with those from Thunder Bay represented the idea of people coming together, he said

"I just think kites have a magical quality to them," De Roover said. "It is something that is literally hanging up in the air and it’s something that people don’t get to see everyday. To have a festival that involves something with that mystic to it makes it special."

His first year organizing the event, De Roover said the planning process had some difficulties but felt the festival went along smoothly.