My family and I attended the Whidbey Island Kite Festival this weekend. When we got there on Saturday (around 1pm) there was very little wind. We were disappointed as we expected to pull up and see tons of kites in the air, but there were only a couple. We decided to stay anyway and check things out. The kids got to make some little sled kites, which they had a great time doing. Even though there was no wind, they still had fun trying to run and fly them. They spend a good hour running around with them. We also got to watch some great indoor kites being flown outside due to the lack of wind. We all had fun and decided that we would come back on Sunday and hope for more wind!
When we showed up on Sunday about noon, there was more wind, but still very little. There were more kites in the air, but not a ton of them and no big lifters. We did get to see some quad line teams fly, which was pretty great. We also bought some tickets for the couple hundred items that were being raffled off. As we were walking around, I spotted a guy in the practice field really tricking up a kite. I decided to walk over and watch. He was a really nice guy and turns out a forum member (GEB). We talked for awhile and then Gary offered to let me fly his kite. I don't have a lot of flying time under my belt, so was a little hesitant but took him up on the offer. Gary was extremely helpful and offered suggestions. He also didn't outwardly grimace when I lawn darted his kite a few times. After a little time flying with his instruction, I was able to get a fade. I'm sure Gary was amused because I was pretty excited about a simple fade, but it made my day. So thanks for taking the time to help out a newbie to flying Gary! Now to apply what I learned today and make my new Zephyr do the same thing.
To end the day, we stayed for the raffle drawings. As I said, there must have been 200 things being given away. We ended up winning 7 of them with our $25 in tickets I bought, including a 150#/100' lineset, two frisbees, a jumprope, a stuffed animal, kite windchimes, and a few other things. I didn't win any of the kites I put in for, but the kids sure enjoyed getting their names called! They also ended up helping out and doing most of the name pulling, which they had a great time with.
The only disappointing part of the festival (aside from the lack of wind on both days) is that I hoped to pick up an UL or SUL kite in the kite tent, but there just weren't any on either Saturday or Sunday. Guess I'll keep my eyes on the Swap Meet! All in all it was a great weekend. Our whole family had a lot of fun and we plan to go again next year.
