Friday, May 25, 2012
By NICOLE PADEN
Mill Creek MetroParks Farm hosted its 20th Kite Festival May 12 under blue skies and perfect winds.
Carol Vigorito, an employee of the Mill Creek MetroParks, has been organizing this event for the past two years.
“I’m very excited for the kite show and people come from all over the place for this event,” she explained.
There were 20 volunteers from the Mill Creek MetroParks helping at the event. Also, a local church provided refreshments for the participants and spectators.
The kite show began at 11 a.m. and went on until 3 p.m. and was free to the public. The event was kicked off with a flag raising ceremony and the playing of the “Star Spangled Banner”.
Participants came early to design their own kites. The kite kit workshop was a hit as kite-making kits were gone in only an hour. There were a total of 100 pre-made kite kits that could be purchased for $3 each.
The kite flyers participated in contests for smallest, most artistic, highest-flying kites and oldest and youngest kite flyers. There was also a contest called wind sprint, which is a kite race like a sprint running race but with kites. The contestants lined up at the starting line and the wind took them to the finish line. Prizes were coupons to be used at the MetroParks’ gift shop.
The smallest kite flown was a mini Guatemala multi-stick kite and there were three kites that were the highest-flying, reaching heights between 1,500 and 2,000 feet.
The Ohio Society for the Elevation of Kites and Fly Pittsburgh helped organize the event and provided demonstrations. The group is internationally recognized in sport kite competitions and homemade kites.
“It’s held in Canfield every other year so the public won’t get jaded and be more excited about it,” said Nancy Lockwood, a member of the Kite Flyer Club.