2009, May 30-31: Pontiac,IL Kite Fest

[prairierose]

My pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=7 ... e8d0aa1838

[backdraft]

kool pictures Rose, we had a lot of fun I can't wait till next weekend to do it all again in Naperville. See you there.

Big Mike

[Jeepster]

Good pictures ... thanks Rose.

Saturday was a good day for wind ... started out light in the morning and simply continued to grow in speed as the day progressed. Lots of big kites in the air with lots of spectators. The spectator ROK battle was a great success. Lots of cut lines and lots of laughter. The best part was that the gal flying my ROK let it get a little too high in the air. When the line was cut, it floated slowly across the flying field, the farmers field, and landed just short of the trees about a half mile away. Luckily it missed the prison. Thanks go to Nick for chasing it down.

Sunday was interesting. Had about five minutes of wind every hour or so. When a wind would come up, everyone would run to their kites and fly 'till it died. It was funny to see nothing in the sky and then a minute later see a full kite festival in the sky. The most interesting minute of the day was when a rather large wind devil came across our corner of the field. First indication of something wrong was my grandson's small tent slowly circling about 100 feet off the ground ... perfectly upright, and perfectly inflated and slowly circling. Then Jeff's shelter joined in the fun by taking off. Seems the only thing stopping the shelter from gaining altitude was the rope wrapped around Nick's arm ... guess he does fly SLKs after all. The shelter flew right across a multitude of Revs and their lines without damaging a single kite ... very lucky!!! Lots of twisted lines, but no damaged kites ... only injury was the rope burns on Nick's arm. I think I'll stay away from Nick while at Pontiac ... last year he was hit with a stake that was pulled out of the ground in a high wind situation.

Cheers,
Tom

[Frodos Majik]

Please pass on the thanks Mike to Vandana for sharing her shots of the day!! So great shots were taken by her and you to Rose, Thank You too you also for sharing them.

Well it looked like I had the pick of the days to be able to make it out to the fest! I have to admit it sure did feel VERY ODD leaving before all was done for the day!!!

Had a BLAST flying with everyone. David you were doing great with the team flying. The ROK battles were a HOOT to do and watch!! Another thanks goes out to Nick from me also for shagging down my kite too!!!

It was great seeing all the faces that only make it out to a few a year too.

Looking forwards to doing this one all over again next year. Pontiac Tourism does a GREAT job of putting it together and pulling it all off!!

[Knoted4ever]

The handicapped students from my class enjoyed Saturday's fest a whole bunch; they were there for quite a long time! The staff were also very impressed and stated that, next year, they will bring more students! Many of the students have long term goals in their annual rehabilitation plans... such as going to community events (that involve a lot of action and activity); our kiting events fit the bill!

Many other people, at work, were very appreciative of the festival and said that it was extremely enjoyable!

The pics look quite cool! Excellent job, Vandana and Rose!

[Anne]

Pics of 180 Go and IKE in The Pontiac Daily Leader newspaper.

Check out this link for photos

http://www.pontiacdailyleader.com/archi ... e-Festival

Anne