18th Annual Canal Days Kite Festival -
2010
Sunday, August 1st, 2010 - 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Lakeview Park - Port Colborne,
ON
- Sponsored by VALE-INCO -
An Officially Sanctioned Event of
The City of Port Colborne ® Festival
Every member of the Niagara Windriders
Kitefliers Association is involved in the planning and operation of this festival.
Our club really pulls together and each member plays an important
role in bringing the artistry, science, technology, and skill of
kiting to the attention of the general public.
Again this year, the Canal Days Kite festival is generously sponsored by VALE-INCO, a Canadian-based global company with operations and an extensive marketing network in over 40 countries.
VALE-INCO maintains a nickel and precious metals refinery in Port Colborne, ON
For more information on the four day
city-wide, 31st Annual Canal Days Festival and for directions to
Port Colborne, ON visit the city
of Port Colborne's web site. The city festival was started in
1978 by the Port Colborne Historical and Marine Museum
to celebrate Port Colborne's maritime heritage in Great Lakes shipping
and our connection to the Welland Canal. The full festival now includes
activities along historic West Street by the Welland Canal, ship
tours, entertainment, an arts festival, children's events, an auto
show, and the Kite Festival. Over 80,000 visitors annually attend
the events during the four days that the festival runs.
If you have questions about the Canal
Days Kite Festival, send an email message to the Niagara
Windriders Kitefliers Association.
Schedule of Kite Events
for the 18th Annual Canal Days Kite Festival
Saturday, July 31st, 2010 - Night Fly
Special mylar kites (highly reflective
material) and kites with battery powered strobes and outline lights
will sparkle in the night sky beginning at dusk (approximately 9:00
p.m., winds permitting). The Night Fly features the incredible "100
kite trains" of Jim and Barb Gibson of OSEK (Ohio Society
for the Elevation of Kites). Bring your lawn chairs to enjoy the spectacle on a beautiful summer night!
Sunday, August 1st, 2010
- Festival Schedule
10:00
a.m.-12:00 noon |
Free
Flying |
Registration
of visiting kiters at the NWKA registration area. Kiters
set up kites and practice routines. Club banners are placed
around the perimeter of the field (all original artwork, hand
sewn, and multicolored) to create the festival atmosphere.
|
1:00
-3:00 |
Single Line Field
Sport Kite
Field |
Kites of all
types are in the air!. Traditional diamond kites, Chinese
kites, box kites, cellular kites, Japanese Rokkaku, Edo and
Genki kites, parafoils, huge Sutton Flow forms, Dragon kites,
multi-kite trains and arches and lots of beautiful line laundry
(tails and windsocks). See cameras suspended from kites as aerial
photos are taken from kites high above Lakeview Park!
Pairs and teams take to the
field with their amazing precision ballet routines to music.
Championship flyers from the Great Lakes area will be in attendance.
The Windjammers Kite Team from Detroit, Michigan will demonstrate precision kite ballet
by flying multi-line sport kites to music, an amazing performance of aerial artistry with kites!Marvel
at the skill and beauty of the performances by dual and quad line flyers!
|
2:00
p.m. |
Grand Ascension and
Kite Arch Launch |
Official opening
ceremony with Mayor Vance Badawey and Derek Miller, the Town Crier of the City of Port Colborne. All kites
are pulled out of the sky for the Grand Ascension
and then, on cue to special music, the sky is suddenly filled
with over 100 beautiful kites in a simultaneous launch. Awesome! |
2:30
p.m. |
Teddy Bear Drops |
The fearless Canadian Parabear
Squadron takes to
the air. Hoisted 200 feet up on kite lines and equipped with
special parachutes, the Bears chute safely down to earth with
prizes for some lucky children in attendance! The Parabear Squadron
is under the capable command of Karen, Irving and Ellen Reid. |
Time
dependant on wind conditions. |
Giant Kite
Display |
"Several Giant Show Kites"
will be flown in a special display. Gary Mark and Michelle Wellsford
(TKF) will feature their giant 'Peter Lynn Octopus'
from New Zealand and their awesome "Wind Dreams" mega-parafoil. Kerry St. Dennis and Lucy Jonkman (RCFF) will fly their amazing "Wind Passion", a giant parafoil featuring children's favourite characters 'Sylvester and Tweety'.
Other large kites will include amazing Sutton 450s and 252s (450 and 250 sq.ft.each) flown by several fliers attending, the giant Flying Man of Ted Shaw (GLKS). The large 'bols' of Ed Hummel, Carlos Simoes, Donna Taylor and the spectacular sky paint brush of Mark Groshen (KW-Wind Climbers).
The large deltas of Eric Curtiss and Anne Sloboda (South Coast Kite Conspiracy) will catch your eye with their intricate designs hand dyed into the fabric.
These large kites will provide an amazing spectacle! |
3:30
p.m. |
Rokkaku and Fighter
Kites |
If winds permit,
several teams of fliers will launch large Japanese Rokkaku
battle kites into the sky for a round of "demolition derby".
Last kite up wins! Interclub bragging rights are at stake
in this hotly contested event.
The intricacies of the fine art of "fighter kite" flying will be demonstrated by skilled fliers from various clubs.
Special fighter kite pilots Pete Rich, Charles Vickerson, Vaino Raun, Dennis Ische and Thom Shanken, among others, will be flying.
Other prominent visiting kite fliers include: Ted Shaw, Don Brownridge, Bill Peart and Kathy Holt, Harald and Michaela Koch, Carl Wall, Carl Bigras, Paul and Mary Kort and others to be announced.
|
3:30-4:30 |
Demonstrations |
Continued demonstrations of the best
in single line kites and the finest sport kite flying to music!
The Windjammers Performance Kite Team from Detroit MI will entertain with special team ballet performances.
Kerry St. Dennis and Bill Peart will fly team pairs ballet with both dual line and quad line kites.
Mark Groshens and Fred Taylor will demonstrate "power traction kiting" where kites pull fliers on three wheeled buggies - an amazing
demonstration of wind power and skill! |
-
Kite fliers will be present from the following kite clubs -
Canadian Kite Clubs:
Toronto Kitefliers, Kitchener-Waterloo Wind Climbers, Royal City
Fun Flyers, South Coast Kite Conspiracy, Renegade Strings Kite Club, and "Fédération
Québécoise du Cerf-Volant" (Quebec Kite Federation).
American Kite Clubs:
GLKS (Great Lakes Kitefliers Society - Western NY); NYKE (New York Kite Enthusiasts); OSEK (Ohio Society
for the Elevation of Kites); and the Black Swamp Air Force (Toledo, OH).
In addition to the flyers listed in
the program of events above, some of the featured kite fliers who
may attend this event include: Adrian Conn, Gary Mark and Michelle Wellsford, Frank and Donna O'Neil, Dick and Cathy Armstrong, Jim Peck, Harald and Michaela Koch, Don Brownridge, Doug Isherwood, Todd Vest, Richard and Laurie Dutton (World Box Kite Train Record Holder), Ted and
Joan Shaw, Ellen Reen, Todd Sweet, Ziggy Racek and many others!
Join us for a wonderful celebration
on blue sky! Spectacle and fun for the entire family! Bring some
lawnchairs, your sunglasses and sunscreen to enjoy the event.
Also in another section of the park is the fabulous
Canal Days Car Show which features over 300 of the
finest antique and special interest autos in the area.
This event is made possible
through the generous sponsorship of:
- VALE/Inco Canada - official
sponsor of the 17th Annual Niagara Windriders Canal Days Kite Festival.
- Niagara Windriders Kitefliers
Association - whose members provide the planning and logistical organization
and the volunteer staff to operate the kite festival.
- the Port Colborne
Canal Days Festival Committee for assistance in coordinating this sanctioned event with the 33rd Annual Port Colborne Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival.
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Scenes
from Previous Canal Days Kite Festivals
Thanks to the following festival participants for use of their photos:
Vince Baish, Dennis Ische, Doug Isherwood, Ted Shaw, Kerry St. Dennis, Bob White.
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