Windjammers Kite Team Blog

Had a great time Jamaica in 2016. Gary wrote an article, which appeared in the AKA Kiting Magazine. Here is a web version. Skyfly Jamaica

This was a first for me. I have done my kite presentation all over, schools, churches, Boy & Girl Scouts to name a few. But this was a Home School group, which has a building they meet at to have special presentations and hands on stuff.
When I walked in I was greeted by a 1 year old with a bottle. There were also kids with their parents outside looking for insects. I meet Susan A. Coordinator for the kite event. I realize I need to adjust my presentation for the diverse age range. After my brief speech, we build, the Frustration-less flier sled kites. Once the kites were built, we headed out to the Gilmore Car Museum to fly. Very nice museum, will  go back one day to check it out more.

The kids flew their kites and I let some try their hand at stack flying, as well as some of the adults. Had a great time, then it was time to head off to the Main Event for the weekend. GREAT LAKES KITE FEST 2016.

Started the day with heavy clouds that looked like they could open up at anytime, and that’s what happened. Shortly after the festival got on the way, the rain came. All the performers were able to get in one demo fly before the rain. The event was called do to rain around 1:30 pm. Then event is scheduled for 2017, lets hope for a great weekend. 

Hoping that the weather would be like last year or at least temps around predictions. We were greeted by temps in the low 40s and wind topping out around 30mph. So in other words cold! For the second annual festival, it hosts some of the best Midwest talent; Chicago Fire, Fire & Ice, Blues Brothers, 180GO, Mr Incredible and others. We all braves the harsh conditions and put on a show.
Attendance was up from the previous year, so it looks like it’s a go for 2017. 
 

It’s finally done, the new Windjammers Kite Team website. Works on Desktops, Tablets and Smart Phones (Well, I hope it works 🙂 )

Due to schedule conflict Cleveland had to move their event date up to August 22th and 23rd. So we are still planning to be part of the festival. Check back for updates and schedule.

It’s been awhile since we had a solid day of rain at an event. Well Saturday at Balloonfest in Howell changed that. We arrived to a overcast day and the prediction was for 90% chance of rain. So as showtime drew closers the light rain began. Then it really began to rain, so we delayed our show for around 1/2 hour. When we had a short window with out rain we headed to the launch field. We had nice clean wind, we did our whole show. Unfortunately there were only a handful of spectators to watch. Then the rain came back. So we headed to the hotel to dry out and hope for a better tomorrow.

Sunday was the perfect day we were hoping for. Had a chance to dry out the kites from the previous day. And as showtime came we had some of the best winds we have ever had in Howell. We flew a flawless performance. Thanks to Joe Stephens and his wife for their help and braving the rainy weather.

A big thank you to Meijer’s for sponsoring the team again.

 

And a big thank you to the Howell Balloonfest Staff and we look forward to our 27th appearance in 2016.