American Kitefliers Association

Get as many people who have not flown a kite to fly one, walk up to them and hand them your line and ask them,
" would you hold this for a minute for me please?"

Then watch for the smiles.......

The best way to grow kiting in your area, just my opinion...

Totally agree, the more kites you have in the air, the better! Have people sign a list with name/phone/email so you can contact them later. Can you give away a few of the kites as prizes?
A fun activity is wind sprints. Place the unassembled kites at one end of the field. Line up the crowd, one for each kite, at the other end. At the whistle the people run to the kite, put it together and get it into the air. They must fly the kite to a set height, and then run back to the starting line. this is good for all ages, with smaller children being allowed help to assemble.
Another challenge is who can get the kite the highest in 1 minute.
Line up some help ahead of time, this is too much for one person to do all on their own.
Have fun! Post pictures.

Thank you very much, Barbara for your valuable input! If you have any other ideas like that I am happy to discover them!
I will come back with pictures as well!

This event is part of a team building exercise, that's why it is important to have some activities lined up.

Many thanks,
Corina

THe AKA has a wonderful book available called the Kite Event Organizers Manual. ITs more for a large scale event but you can get ideas on how to organise and publicise the event.

For years working with Nationl Kite Month I have suggested that people gather in a regular place at a given time such as the 2nd saturday of the month so that others can find you. To take it to the next step you can get permission from the park to invite people to bring a picnic lunch and thier kites to join you for a day of fun. If they dont have a kite you can do as suggested and let them see yours. It does not have to be anything formal at first but it can grow from there.

I would also suggest having a webiste for information such as facebook is used by many clubs in the states. WIth a site to answer questions and remind peole of when you will be flying you can grow the group to allow for larger activities. Pre punched business cards that you run thru a printer are also very low in cost and you can change the information as needed. Hand out a card to people who ask questions so that they can find out more information to join you again.

Great reading these comments as we are planning our first Kite Flying Event off the break walls and beach of Port Sanilac on Lake Huron in Michigan.  I am hoping that it will be a great event and that we will have it every year.  The wind is beautiful in this spot and I know it would be a lot of fun.  Any advice is welcome.  Thanks, Susan

Susan,

When you are ready to go, put it in the calendar and mention it in the Region-5 section. I will try to get there.

And of course, download the "Kite Event Organizer's Manual" from the AKA website's publications page.

pwmeek wrote:

... put it in the calendar and mention it in the Region-5 section. I will try to get there.

What Pete said.

jf (packing for GH)

Hi everyone,

Thank you all for advices, I downloaded the book as well.
My event turned out fantastic! There were around 70 people, I organized 5 trials: setting up your kite, flying it higher in 60 seconds, keep it longer in the air, kite ballet and mega flying (all kites in the air simultaneously for 2 minutes). People had tremendous fun! you could not get the kites out of their hands...or off the sky.

Now I have a bigger challenge . Organize a 3 day kite festival on the beach. The resort we are planning to go is a popular for children summer camps and family with children vacations. I was thinking to have mega bols and funky flying creatures (octopus, sharks, butterflies etc), one liners in general...My questions are:
1. What other kites do you suggest I bring?
2. How do you keep them in the air for 3 days? How do you keep a Mega Bol under control for such a long period of time?
3. What activities should I plan for the 3 days having into consideration the main audience will be children and parents/school or kidnergarden teachers?

Thank you so much!

Corina