WSIKF 2009

We returned once again to Long Beach Washington for our ninth annual Washington State International Kite Festival. This was a good year, with no rain and the largest spectator crowd in my memory.

Kite clubs come each year and set up camp on the beach. The photo above shows ours on the first day, before it became crowded. Later in the week we had to rise early and get to the beach by 6 am to get a spot. The 22-foot American flag banner is a new one that I made for this year's event.

This kite was my entry in the handcrafted competition this year. I call it Sine Wave. It is constructed using flat carbon-filement for the wing spars and ribs, which lendsitself well to the curved shapes. The wingspan is about eight feet. Unfortunately there was not enought wind to fly it on the day the judging was done but it won a blue ribbon for design and esthetics, and because it was the only entry in its category. Regardless of the tainted ribbon I am pleased with the kite.