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Monday, May 1 st saw the third Kite Festival hosted by Environment & Heritage Service, DoE. The first two events were held at the top of Redburn Country Park , Holywood but the long steep climb to the flying area proved to be too much of a major expedition for those with small children and so a change of venue had to come. Experience had shown that there was a great deal of interest from kiters and the general public and so it did not take long to persuade the staff at Crawfordsburn Country Park, Helen's Bay, Bangor that their situation was just what was needed in terms of easy access, plenty of parking facilities and a large flying area close to the sea. Since there isn't a tradition of kite festivals over here as compared with England , we needed to draw on the experience of some experts from across the water and quite by accident, we were lucky enough to have four ‘Airheads' agree to make the trip. Don't let your imagination run riot at this point since the four flyers concerned are extremely nice people and very competent flyers!
It was as a result of checking out the Chinese Dragon kites on www.airdynamics.co.uk that the owner, Mr. Peter Taylor agreed to enlist the help of three others and come over to help us out. For publicity purposes and kiting demos, the group is affectionately known as the ‘Airheads'.
Due to airline baggage restrictions etc, a large box of kites arrived several days before the event and little did we know that the largest Dragon kite in the UK , all 80m of it, lurked inside. Peter and co. arrived the night before the event and when asked the next morning how the flight had gone, he was slightly hesitant. It turned out that on arrival, passengers had not been allowed off the aircraft until Police came on board to arrest a couple of rugby supporters who had been making a nuisance of themselves and also committing indecent exposure towards the female cabin crew! What an introduction to Northern Ireland and for one of the ‘Airheads', it was the first time he had flown in seventeen years! To top it all, when they arrived at the hotel, they walked into an extremely loud party, the sound of which was reverberating through the building to the upper floors.
Despite the eventful arrival on Sunday night, all woke next morning full of enthusiasm for the day ahead. The designated area in Crawfordsburn Country Park was a hive of activity from early morning as marquees etc and a rather powerful PA system were erected. As we all mucked in to mark out the flying area, one big question was in our minds, ‘Where was the wind?' In short, the wind was light and it came and went all through the morning. The Airheads began assembling kites and headed off up the hill to check conditions but soon came back down again to grab even lighter stunt kites. It was soon generally accepted that the day could prove to be a challenge – well, that was a polite way of putting it! Families soon began arriving and all manner of kites began to appear on the grass, followed by energetic attempts to affect a launch. It has to be said that some people had more success than others but one gentleman who makes his own kites, soon had his Rokkaku flying higher than anyone else in the area. He stopped paying out line after the kite had reached approximately 200ft and then came the strain of holding on to it! It soon became apparent that he was under pressure but was so grateful when a very large steel stake was driven into the ground beside him so that his kite could be attached to it. Once relieved of his creation, he began to relax and enjoy conversation with those around him. As the number of visitors increased, those without kites soon spotted Mark Richardson and his colleague, both from Surf Mountain . The black Ozone tent seemed to be a magnet for kids and adults alike and the boys did a roaring trade selling various types of stunt kite and other assorted goodies.
The wind was not very obliging as the afternoon went on and the ‘Airheads' continued to display as best they could but no one really minded as there seemed to be a real ‘chilled out' atmosphere around the site. If kites could not be flown then a bout of relaxation was in order! A rather large black kite known as Morticia ( name that film? ) took to the skies for a time and proved to be very stunning. Later, there was an attempt to launch one of the Dragon kites, a mere 30m in length. The PA blasted out some dramatic Chinese music and Peter Taylor was off up the hill trying to launch the dragon. Well, he tried his best but unfortunately he had to admit defeat in the end. The gradient of the hill seemed to increase each time he tried and soon all conversation stopped as he ran out of puff! It was wise of him to give up rather than risk a medical emergency. Needless to say, the UK 's largest Dragon kite, all 80m, remained in its box. An open invitation to come forward and fly some small paper Rokkaku kites was soon taken up by excited children and their parents. Perhaps it was the thought of being able to take home one of these free kites that fuelled the interest but enthusiasm was in abundant supply. As the day was coming to a close, Peter Taylor put on a very good display using a stunt kite with a very long and colourful tail. Those present at the bottom of the hill stopped what they were doing and watched intently as Peter displayed his skills and as he finished, the crowd showed their appreciation with enthusiastic applause.
Yes, the day could have been better in terms of wind but on the positive side, the day served to illustrate the fact that kiting generally is very popular with the public both young and the not so young. No doubt there will be another Kite Festival at Crawfordsburn next year. As for the ‘Airheads', they really enjoyed their short visit to Northern Ireland and were very impressed with the countryside and the warmth of the people that they met. They will definitely be invited again next time and they have already said that they would love to come back. |