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2012 Art and Balloon Festival
page 57 Monday, August 27, 2012
Wagner said becoming a kiter can be a
pretty expensive venture, or not. He said many
nice kites have a starting price of around $25,
but some of the intricate and complicated kites
can run as high as $2,500.
Most of the kites flown by the club are
made of a product called ripstop nylon, which
is somewhat similar to parachute material.
Wagner said that in the club, there are those
who make their own kites, those who design
them and have someone else make them, and
those who purchase pre-made kites.
He said two of the major manufactures are
companies called Premier Kites and Into the
Wind. He also noted that in the Wisconsin
membership are Tony and Ann Killip of
Galesburg. The Killips have a shop in the
Galesburg area called Our Kites Fly Too,
where they design and sell kites.
Wagner pointed out his own creation, Baby
Bertha, a blue and white kite with long tube
tails, and said it was one he had made himself.
Another member of the club pointed out
a pair of legs floating in the air. The kite
appeared to be a soccer player from the waist
down, complete with athletic shorts, knee
socks and black shoes. He explained that
this is the product of a British company that
specializes in making legs.
Wagner said there is a national association
for kiters, the American Kitefliers Association,
which holds a convention, and there are some
competitions for kiters.
Competitions include sport kiting and kite
building, and there are also awards for other
things such as kite design.
In addition to flying their kites, once again
this year the club helped fill a gap when it
because too windy for the balloon launch. At
a little after 7 Saturday evening, kites took to
the skies and “danced” to music. The kiters
manning the kites kept them in the air with
two strings, one in each hand. They steered the
kites into a variety of maneuvers, including
swoops to the left and right, deep dives toward
the ground that suddenly turned back upward
and soared toward the heavens, and tight loops
where the tails formed perfect circles in the
sky.
At the end, the crowd, which consisted of
thousands of folks Saturday, was enthralled
as they clapped and cheered for the beautiful
show.
In addition to all this, the club also offered
an afternoon of fun for youngsters as club
members taught kids how to make and fly their
own kites, using basic materials like butcher
paper, lightweight wood, and of course plenty
of string. LDN has separate coverage of this
activity in today’s edition.
Wagner said he and his wife came into
Lincoln on Wednesday. They spent time in
town and attended some of the activities
uptown on Friday. He said they very much
enjoy coming to Lincoln and are looking
forward to returning next year, as they have
already been asked to do so.
He also said he wanted to express
appreciation on behalf of the whole club to
the chamber and the kite sponsors who made
it possible for the club to make the journey to
Lincoln for the weekend.
According to this year’s festival guide
book, the sponsors who helped bring the kites
to Lincoln included Advanced Eyecare of
Lincoln, Farm Credit Services and Liberty Tax
Service.
[By NILASMITH]