Yes sir, folks – it’s true!  “Windless” will be FIVE YEARS OLD in a few days now.  You know what I’m talking about - “Windless...” - the winter Indoor kite festival in Long Beach, Washington!

It sure seemed odd when that one first started. I thought to myself, who’d want to go to some resort town in the middle of winter and spend a rainy weekend flying kites in an elementary school gym?  Well, apparently enough people are interested so we’re celebrating the 5th iteration of this event – that’s how many...

Anyway, we’re back at Windless again.  And yes, as they’ve always done, this one is scheduled on the “Martin Luther Day” weekend again – January 13th through 15th. Same location too - the Long Beach Elementary School at 400 Washington Ave N., right in downtown Long Beach.  Costs?  Well, if you’re going to compete you need to a) be a current AKA member, and b) bring $ 10 for the registration fee. So, now - while you’re thinking about it - do the pre-registration bit and contact Scott Davis to get your name on his “Windless” list.

And, since it’s a three-day weekend, we’ll begin it properly by starting it early again – opening the gym on Friday evening so we can get a little free-flying in.  That way we’ll actually get a three-and-a-HALF-day weekend, right Scotty? For those of us who’ve been there before, the schedule will likely be close to the last one.  But if you weren’t there, or don’t remember, it should go like this:

Friday, Jan. 12th
4:00pm to 10:00pm – Open Flying

Saturday, Jan 13th
9:00am to Noon – Open Flying
Noon to 2:00pm – Demos
2:00pm to 4:00pm – Open Indoor Individual Unlimited comps
6:00pm to ??pm – Potluck Banquet, Raffle, and Awards
??pm to 10:00pm – Open Flying

Sunday, Jan 14th
9:00am to Noon – Open Flying
Noon to 2:00pm – Demos
2:00pm to 4:00pm – Hot Tricks
4:00pm to 10:00pm – Demos and Open Flying

Monday, Jan 15th
9:00am to Noon – Open Flying

Okay, so much for the likely schedule specifics. Now, what’s REALLY in store for those of us who come for the show rather than the comps?  Well, we know of at least a couple of interesting items:

- The first is, there’s a “hint” around (but we’re not too sure of all this) that at least some of Team iQuad will be there, and they’re fooling around with the idea of putting on an Indoor demo using some Indoor Revolutions.  Never seen indoor “team” flying before?  Well this might be your first chance to see some...

- And, you’ll likely get to see that wonder-kid of the Northwest Sport Kite League (NWSKL), Tristan “Fireball” Underwood, in a few of his amazing indoor demos and competitions.  Tristan simply clobbered everyone last time out when he flew at Camus, and he currently leads the league in indoor points – at a mere 10 years old!  This is one phenomenal star-in-the-making, folks, and his performances are simply not to be missed...

- And – quite frankly – I’ve also been amazed at the skill growth in indoor flying across the whole league. These folks are getting to be darned GOOD at this indoor stuff, so I don’t think Tristan and iQuad are the only interesting possibilities.  Folks like Lam Hoac, Penny Lingenfelter, Jerry Cannon, Scott Davis, Alan Cunningham, and Wayne Turner are also folks who know how to fly a kite indoors pretty darned well.  They’ll be well worth watching.  And goodness knows who else will show up...

Well, that’s what’s happening at Long Beach on three-day weekends in January.  Now you can stay home and watch the drizzle and wonder when you’re going to get to fly that kite you got for Christmas – or you can come on down to Long Beach and join in the fun. Bring your indoor kite if you have one.  If not, there’ll be a couple loaners around – and the loaner owners might even give you a little free indoor instruction, too.

And please remember:

• All proceeds go to the World Kite Museum, so the trip’s well worth your time and effort on that score alone... Click here for the WKM web site.
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• And – you should keep checking the NWSKL website for any adjustments.  They’re responsible for changes, additions, and the possible deletions – so pay attention to THEM if you want the best information... Their web site.

See ya in Long Beach for the 5th Windless, folks...

       Geezer