Kites Fly at Wright Kite Fest

Decorating the sky at the 37th Annual Kitty Hawk Kites Wright Kite Festival.

Mother Nature threw us a curve on Sunday for the second day of the 37th Annual Kitty Hawk Kites Wright Kite Festival—there was no wind, which on the Outer Banks has got to be considered an anomaly.

That’s actually a bit of an exaggeration—there were occasional puffs of winds, but the nice constant southwest breeze we’re so use to on the Outer Banks in the summer was sporadic.

That didn’t stop kite flyers for putting kites in the air.

Sled kite in flight.

Some of the larger kites that help decorate the sky had a tough time staying aloft but there were almost always a parafoil, large delta and assorted other kites flying to let people know something special was happening.

The sled kites the kids were making in the kite making workshop were flying great. The sled kite is a perfect beginner kite—run fast and the kite soars into the air.  Easy to make, easier to fly and customized with each child’s own decorations, it’s no wonder they’re always a hit at every festival.

The stunt kite flyers got in some flight time. In the demo field quad line flyers had their kites dancing to music a flitting across the sky.

Chris Shulz doing a 360 with a power kite.

One of the most impressive demonstrations came from Chris Shultz from HQ Kites who brought a quad line power kite with him. For about five minutes Chris had the kite flying with no wind, making a 360 degree turn around the field keeping the kite in the sky with just his movement.

Next up on the Kitty Hawk Kites entertainment agenda will be the Watermelon Festival at the Jockey’s Ridge Store in Nags Head. Face painting, watermelon seed spitting contest, games, lots of watermelon to consume  . . . a great day on the Outer Banks. Friday, July 30. Be there if you can.