Success… After spending many an afternoon flying some of my larger kites at Windsor Sports Complex just outside of Madison, WI, I reached out to the DeForest Windsor Area Chamber of Commerce on the idea of a kite festival, and we’re in business! Come join the Wisconsin Kiters Club and the DeForest Windsor community for the first ever Windsor’s Windy Kite Festival at Windsor Sports Complex from 11 am to 4 pm on Sat., Aug. 6, 2022 (rain date Aug 7).
Chow Chong, owner of Unique Flying Objects and founder of Kites Over Lake Michigan in Two Rivers, WI, joined me on an initial call with chamber Executive Director Heike Compe. He shared the ins and outs of staging festivals and provided a helping hand in getting the ball rolling. Chow’s handiwork as a sought-after festival consultant recently helped Iron Mountain-based Lake Antoine Park Partners establish the first kite festival – Kites Over Awesome Lake Antoine – in Michigan’s upper peninsula.
Meanwhile, out in the Pacific Northwest, one of the newest clubs, Humboldt Kiters, founded by AKA member Jimmie Nord in 2019, is partnering with nonprofit, INK People Center for the Arts, on the inaugural Redwood Coast Kite Festival on May 21 – 22, 2022. The event will be held at Halverson Park in Eureka, CA and include sport kite demonstrations, artist-created kites and an artisan fair with live music. Buy a Humbolt Kiters club shirt, and $8 will go directly to help fund the festival.
Michael K. Sherman 