Kite Festival

[Dan T]

The kite festival is this Saturday on the mall in DC. We've traditionally had a presence there and built a lot of good will amongst residents and visitors alike.

Is anyone planning on attending? Can anyone bring a wing? I wonder if they'd let us 'kite' a bag wing?

Dan T

[Matthew]

Karen and I will be away this weekend visiting Brian VH in NYC. In the past when organizing the club's display I contacted--

Brandi D. Rose
Program Associate, Performing Arts/Summer Camp
The Smithsonian Associates
***********************
rosebr@si.edu
(202) 786-9040

And just told her that the club would be there with a couple of gliders. Then you show up early and ask where to set up.

And, yes, you can kite your PG on the mall.

Matthew

[markc]

Just back in town, and saw this topic.... I have the *very* nice club banners/displays
that Charlotte created for CHGPA, and would be happy to coordinate with anyone who
might be willing to display a glider down on the mall on Saturday. Call me so that we
can get things going!

The KiteFest is one of the few events that actually gets some living/breathing people
to our local foot- and aero-tow instructors, without any prior knowledge or awareness
of the area's HG and PG opportunities. I really hope that some pilots will be willing to
step forward and volunteer for this event!

MarkC

PS: And I've got to tell you, the HG/PG display at the KiteFest ALWAYS attracts
a lot of interest. Much more so than the traditional kite displays. Great opportunity
to share your knowledge of what it's like to _really_ fly!

[Dan T]

I can stop by and man the shop so to speak for a couple of hours. I unfortunately can't carry anything heavier than just a few pounds. I'm still recovering from my boo boo in Costa Rica.

Dan T

[markc]

Well then, I'd hate to see you lugging stuff around Dan! The banners are pretty light,
but I think we'd need at least a table or two, and some sort of promo stuff,
like fliers/mags/etc. We might be able to put all that together this late in the
game... But without several volunteers the effort might not be worthwhile?

I'll be up early tomorrow if anyone wants to make plans: 301-807-5414 .

MarkC

[mingram]

Peter and I are hoping to kite PG tomorrow at the fest. I'd love to represent the club. I'll call in the morn.

[Dan T]

I"ve never coordinated this before but I think calling the person on Matt's post would be more than sufficient. They normally give us a spot near the organized activities such as the kite fights. With just a couple of paragliders and a table I think we could set up anywhere.

I plan to bring a young female out of town guest (my niece) and arrive about noon.

Dan T

[mingram]

I met up with Mark and got the club banner and some fliers. I plan on setting up a table, but I haven't been able to contact anyone at the Smithsonian about it. I'm aiming for noon. Hopefully we can kite by the Washington monument this afternoon when the wind picks up.

Matt
804.399.5155

[Dan T]

I found Peter and Matt at the center of the action at the kite festival. They had the table set up and had drawn a small crowd while I was there. The crowd grew some when Matt popped up his glider in a light puff of air and made a perfect turn and launch run.

Thanks for showing up for us Matt and Peter.

Dan T

[markc]

Yes, kudos to Peter and Matt for volunteering, especially on such short notice. Way to go guys!
We've been a fixture at the KiteFest for many years, would have been a shame to miss out.

Several thoughts:

We need a new club brochure. The one we have is "Learn to Hang Glide", and is from years ago.
Obviously we need PG content added, and the brochure needs to be more visually appealing.

Joe Gregor put together a display that illustrates many aspects of hang gliding : Towing, foot-launch,
landing, cliff/slot/ramp. Does anyone know where it went? And is anyone willing to do something
similar for PG?

Maybe with a little work now, we'll be able to have a much better presence at next year's event.

MarkC

[brianvh]

I believe Joe still has these presentations.

Had fun with Matthew and Karen up in New York, but it looks like you guys had better weather.

[mingram]

The Kite Fest was a lot of fun. I'd definitely do it again next year. The crowd was all oohs and aahs watching us kite. We handed out a bunch of fliers, but were told to stop "advertising" because we didn't have prior approval. We were still allowed to display the club banner and kite and talk to people, but we need to ask permission next time. The green paragliding buttons were a big hit with the kids. It would have been really nice to have a hang glider set up too. The most frequent question asked was, "Where do you fly around here?" It wouldn't hurt to have a laminated map to point to.

Here are the pictures Peter took of me kiting:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48832161@N ... 728791818/

And here are some crowd shots of Peter I found on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48832161@N ... 603625191/

[pink_albatross]

great pix!
thanks for representing the club!
-- ellis

[deveil]

the flickr pics are too cool for school.
what was your line to the other participants as you put yours in the air?
possibly something like, "you call That a Kite" ?

gotta go look at the others.

gary Down-under