Swift Current is the place to be to take in the SaskPower Windscape Kite Festival (WKF).
The 12th annual kite festival was held on June 25 and 26, and former Kamsack residents Cindy Derwores of Calgary and Steven Cherwenuk of Estevan, as well as Jan Derwores of Kamsack were among those who attended.
The two-day kite festival included many great activities for the children, from face painting to kite building workshops. As the main attraction, the kites came in all shapes and sizes, and were flown by kiting “celebrities” from as far away as Belgium.
While many of the fliers are soloists, there were also trained and dedicated teams who choreograph aerial performances to thrill the crowd.
The Swift Current area is known as a great choice for kite flying as the necessary wind to keep the kites in the air is most abundant there. That weekend the winds were hovering near the 40 km/hr speed.
The skies were constantly changing and so were the wind speeds, sometimes bringing a kite diving directly to the ground. Saturday brought violent showers that dampened the ground and sent some kite flyers home. With over 2,000 kite enthusiasts in attendance, Saturday was a success despite the rain.
Sunday was even better with an estimated 5,000 kite enthusiasts in attendance. There were rain showers, but the wind was very co-operative.
According to information printed in the WKF passport, which was distributed to festival attendees, celebrity kiter Don King of San Francisco, California, “is a kite enthusiast and flyer extraordinaire” who uses his knowledge and expertise from being on the field to capture the ears and hearts of many spectators as a master of ceremonies and announcer at many kite festivals. King was the emcee for this event.
David Tuttle of Swift Current, described as a pioneer of the WKF, is a member of the British Columbia Kitefliers Association (B.C.K.A.) and American Kitefliers Association (A.K.A.), the largest association of kiters with over 3,000 members in 25 countries, and is a builder and flier of single line kites, in particular, cellular designs and kite trains.
The WKF passport included the names of 28 celebrity kiters who were in attendance to perform for the audience at this year’s festival. They are described as passionate, enthusiastic, creative individuals who design and build their own kites to thrill the crowds during a performance and, like any art form, the limit is only one’s imagination.
There were single, two and four-line kites, soft (sparless) kites, and kites made with both common materials obtainable anywhere as well as exotic, hard-to-find materials. With good kites and good winds, the performances were inspired.
“Watching a kite fly is fascinating.” said Cindy Derwores as she snapped photo after photo of colourful kites set against the ever-changing sky. “The sky is so intense with the clouds as a backdrop, and the clouds are so amazing.”
Kite-building workshops, kite-flying lessons, and plenty of kite-watching were the main attractions of the festival, but the side-splitting comedy provided by Jonathan Burns, the flexible comedian on the main stage, was another great reason to attend the festival.
“Born with the gifts of flexibility, curiosity and goofiness Jonathan Burns now uses these talents to entertain people of all ages in his interactive, exciting family show,” said the WKF passport.
Persons wanting more information about the WKF may Google search SaskPower Windscape Kite Festival or may find it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WindscapeKiteFest.
