Niagara International Kite Festival Oct. 2-5

Here's an e-mail and press release I received from the folks that help promote Niagara county.

Kites from around the world will be flying high over the mighty Niagara Gorge and various other spots along the Niagara River throughout the weekend of October 2-5 during the 5th annual Niagara International Kite Festival. The event has already caught the attention of the national media; it has been featured on Good Morning America and was named one of the six best international festivals of 2008 by the London Sunday Times Travel Magazine.

Last year’s Kite Festival was attended by more than 25,000 kite enthusiasts from across the globe. This year’s festival highlights the 20th anniversary of the Revolution Kite. The ‘Rev’ for short, is a quad line sport kite, which is an engineering marvel that has revolutionized the sport of kite flying! The kite flies on four lines of spectra fiber with extreme precision and control. The amazing sport kite can stop on a dime in mid air, fly in reverse, and spin in circles http://revkites.com. In celebration of this anniversary, the world famous Team iQuad will amaze onlookers with their unique kite flying shows that feature up to twelve aerodynamic kites racing through the sky in complete synchronized motion, performing aerial maneuvers that can be categorized as high-flying ballet in the sky.

The Kite Festival is to commemorate both the rich history of kites in the region and Homan Welsh, a young boy whose kite flying skills in a kite contest made it possible for the first suspension bridge to be built over the Niagara Gorge. (He landed his kite on the other side of the gorge, establishing the first connection, allowing builders to eventually turn the kite string to metal suspension by building on the string over a period of time). The festival will feature a Homan Walsh kite contest re-enactment featuring local teams, an inspirational attempt to form an arch from the US to Canada made of kites to demonstrate a sign of peace, an indoor night kite flying show, on-site exhibits, a world record setting kite flyer and much, much more.

FOR IMMEDIATERELEASE:
September 16,2008
Contacts:
BenjaminRoberts
e3communications
(o)716.854.8182
(c)716.510.5827
KateScaglione
Niagara Tourism&ConventionCorp.
(o) 716.282-8992 ext. 310
(c)716.602.6255

KITES FROM FAR AND WIDE DECORATING THE NIAGARA SKIES WILL CAPTURE YOUR IMAGINATION!

Niagara Falls opens it skies to welcome the fifth annual
Niagara International Kite Festival

Niagara Falls, New York – The 2008 Niagara International Kite Festival will fill the skies October 2-5, 2008 at various locations around Niagara Falls, New York and Niagara Falls, Ontario, while swooping up the imaginations of event-goers of all ages. Last year’s festival drew more than 25,000 kite enthusiasts from around the world, and organizers are forecasting even larger attendance this year. The Festival was named one of the six best international festivals of 2008 by the London Sunday Times Travel Magazine and was recently featured on ABC’s Good Morning America.

The Niagara International Kite Festival promises to sweep festival-goers off their feet as the skies above the mighty cascades will be filled with magnificent kites of all colors and sizes, with more than 100 world-class kite flyers attending from 13 countries. A highlight of this year’s festival is the special appearance of the world-famous professional kite flying group, Team iQuad, which will help the annual Niagara International Kite Festival celebrate the 20th anniversary of the invention of the Revolution Kite. The ‘Rev’ for short, is a quad line sport kite, which is an engineering marvel that has revolutionized the sport of kite flying! The kite flies on four lines of spectra fiber with extreme precision and control. The amazing sport kite can stop on a dime in mid air, fly in reverse, and spin in circles http://revkites.com. In celebration of this anniversary, Team iQuad will amaze onlookers with their unique kite flying shows that feature up to twelve aerodynamic kites racing through the sky in complete synchronized motion, performing aerial maneuvers that can be categorized as high-flying ballet in the sky.

The weekend long festival will also include kite-making workshops, historical re-enactments, kite competitions and even Bol racing, kite buggying and mountain boarding, with professional teams from all over the world -- as far away as Japan and Tasmania -- participating. There will also be instructors from Revolution on hand at the Niagara event to give free ‘Rev’ flying lessons for those who catch the fever of this awe-inspiring kite-flying style.

Below are some highlights of the 2008 Niagara International Kite Festival:

TEAM iQuad:
The internationally acclaimed Team iQuad will be bringing their high energy, aerobatic kite-flying to the 2008 Niagara International Kite Festival. The team is a group of dedicated Revolution kite flying fans who came together in the spring of 2006 with one goal in mind, the promotion of quad team flying. Relatively new to North America, this type of kite-flying has been a mainstay of European kite flying for many years, starting back in the early 90s in England and eventually spreading to a handful of countries throughout Europe. Team iQuad is made up of nearly a dozen kite pilots from all over the USA and Canada who travel the world year round, performing and teaching. Revolution kite-flying is an exciting, family-oriented sport that is accessible to people of all ages and physical abilities in a wide variety of wind conditions. Today quad team flying is the hottest rage in kite-flying. Team iQuad is one of the best in the world and promises to amaze festival goers. For more information about Team iQuad and for video of the international team’s amazing kite flying skills, please visit http://teamiquad.com.


HISTORY:
Annual Homan Walsh 1848 Re-enactment Contest
Whirlpool State Park, Niagara USA
Thursday, October 2 & Friday October 3 from 11 am to 4 pm
**The exact time and location of this program is dependent on the wind speed and direction the day of the event.

In 1848 Niagara Falls residents decided a bridge spanning the great Niagara gorge would be a big boost to the local economy. The technology to build the bridge was not a problem, however locals were at a loss as to how to get that very important first line across the gorge. The steep cliffs, mighty swirling rapids, and frigid winds hindered boats or other conventional methods to establish the first line connecting the two countries. Homan Walsh, a fifteen-year old boy came to the rescue and attempted to fly the line over with his kite. After many hours of effort – darkness came and went -- Homan finally achieved his goal and was rewarded with the (then) princely sum of $10!

In celebration of this 160th anniversary and to honor this innovative young boy, several teams of kite fliers from both the US and Canada will attempt to re-enact Homan’s ingenious accomplishment. The re-enactment will occur simultaneously at various locations along the Niagara Gorge in both Canada and the USA. Kite fliers looking to feel the spray of the falls on their face, and increase their difficulty factor significantly, will attempt to fly their kites across the span of the gorge right next to the falls at Terrapin Point.

Arch Across the Gorge:
Whirlpool State Park, Niagara USA
Thursday, October 2 & Friday October 3 from 11 am to 4 pm
**The exact time and location of this program is dependent on the wind speed and direction the day of the event.

In what has become one of the Niagara International Kite Festival’s most anticipated tradition, an attempt will be made to fly a kite arch spanning the Niagara Gorge and connecting the United States and Canada. Due to the swirling and unpredictable winds of the Niagara Gorge, the attempt to connect the two countries with the arch is not an easy accomplishment; in fact it is one of the hardest feats in all of kite-flying and has only been done successfully a few times. This year’s kite arch will be flown by Iqbal Husain of Switzerland. The kite arch represents a symbol of peace and unity between the two countries and also shows support for the One Sky One World concept to which most kite fliers strongly subscribe. The exact location of the arch crossing will be determined by the wind speed and direction, but it will likely be the original site where young Homan Walsh achieved his magnificent kite flying feat, just north of the Whirlpool Bridge in Whirlpool State Park.


OTHER FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS:
Reservoir State Park in Lewiston
Saturday and Sunday, October 4 & 5, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (Sat.) and 11a.m.-5 p.m. (Sun.)


The Windy Daredevils: For centuries the lure of the mighty Niagara has drawn thrill-seekers and daredevils from around the globe. These risk-takers come to test their courage, skill and strength. The Kite Festival will recognize this lure of the falls by creating a unique daredevil in the form of Extreme Kite Flyers. The Niagara International Kite Festival will have kite and wind-powered buggies, landboards, and wheeled contraptions of all types, demonstrating the extreme power that can be harnessed from the wind. New this year, Bol Races; participants wearing harnesses will race across the field dragging parachute-shaped nylon bols behind them. These races are sure to be a favorite with event-goers.

Kites Fill The Skies: Amazing kites of every shape, color, and size will fill the sky over Reservoir State Park, all day on Saturday and Sunday. There will be a kite to catch everyone’s eye, ranging from enormous soft sculptures floating among the clouds to historic reproductions. There will be single-line kites, multi-line kites, sport kites, maneuverable kites, and traction kites…the skies the limit!

Workshops: In addition to the huge variety of beautiful kites filling the skies, there will be kite-making workshops for all ages given by professional kite makers on both days from 1 - 3 pm.

Demonstrations: There will be exciting kite traction demos with kite buggies and mountain boards, sport kite flying, plus an Indian and Japanese fighter kite exhibition.

Exhibits: Also included will be interesting, educational and entertaining kite exhibits. The scheduled exhibits are KAP (Kite Aerial Photography), Art Kites, Kite History, Miniature Kites, Kite Traction, and Kite Stamps from around the world.

Just For The Children: Fugu wrestling will once again entertain the most rambunctious children. A fugu is a huge beach ball-type nylon giant inflatable blow fish that can be tackled, wrestled, dived onto and be knocked over by.

For more information about the Niagara Kite Festival, visit www.niagarakite.com or call 1-877-325-5787.