If you're a kid yearning for a kite, show up at the Loch Sheldrake campus of SUNY Sullivan tomorrow just before 10am. The college's annual kite festival, which runs from 10am to 4pm, is handing out free kites to the first 200 children who arrive. And that's just one of the perks of the free event. According to the SUNY Sullivan webpage:
The main attractions are kite flying and demonstrations. However, the Kite Festival will also feature kids rides and games, craft vendors, food and music by the top 40's pop band, Six Pack Joe ... In addition to the kite flying, there will also other events throughout the day. The Fisher Film Festival will be held in the Seelig Theatre with some well known television news personalities participating in panel discussions from 1p.m.-5 p.m.
A group called New York Kite Enthusiasts explains on its website that traditional Japanese fighting kites known as Rokkaku kites will be there to battle:
It looks like we are going to have a good turnout of fliers this year and, in addition to the usual fun and games, we will be adding the new NYKE Rokkaku Team Battle kites and giving a first of its kind 'Rokakkau 101' presentation on the lost art of team Rokkaku kite battle techniques.
Rokkaku kites will certainly be a major feature this year and we have plenty to share if you don't have your own.
In addition to Rokkaku team battles we will still be having individual group battles as usual, as well as our new NYKE "Rokkaku Dueling" competition: if you were at Sullivan or Hammonasset last year you may have been one of folks who fell in love with dueling and just kept going, and going, and going...
Kite photo by Flickr user Karen Blaha.
