Raise the Hammer
Conditions were perfect for last weekend's annual Burlington Kite Festival.
By Margaret Lindsay Holton
Published June 03, 2014
Last weekend, on June 1, The City of Burlington's annual Kite Festival took place at Brant Hills Community Park, a large open area sports park just below the Niagara Escarpment off Dundas Street.
Conditions were perfect: sunny, warm, and just the right amount of continuous breeze for amateurs and professionals to make a day of it. The festivities started at 11:00 AM.
Residents were invited to join in the fun and build a small kite for free, courtesy of the City. The assembly tables were packed. Local kite experts, from Hobby and Toy Central, were on hand to answer questions about the do's and don'ts of successful kite flying. Then, you were on your own ...
A family affair - mothers and fathers, grand-parents and toddlers - all got in the act. For some it was a struggle to get air-borne. Kites, of all shapes and sizes, were in assorted stages of lift off or suddenly nose-diving to the ground. A few lines would cross in mid-air bringing several crashing down together. The wind playfully danced with all.
But there was no holding back. With such perfect conditions, the elation of staying aloft was infectious.
The afternoon skies soon filled with a colorful assortment of easy flyers, diamonds, deltas, stunt, cartoon-designed and a few para-foils.
One effort stood out for me. This kite was beautifully flown by a father-daughter team, who correctly responded to every windy nuance. It was pure pleasure to behold.
Interested in learning more? There are many on-line retailers offering introductory as well as advanced kite kits. Try The Kite Guys and/or Kiteworks.
Kite Festivals happen all over the world. They really take off during the Hindu festival of Uttarayan, in India.
A little closer to home, consider this lovely short video of Ray Bethell, multiple World Champion, from Vancouver B.C.
At 88 years of age, Ray Bethell, sure knows how to impressively glide those long-tailed beauties.
And finally, to exit, a little sing-a-long from Mary Poppins, (lyrics supplied): 'Let's Go Fly A Kite!'
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