What a difference a year makes.  2009 finds me RETIRED after 30 years as a city mail carrier.  I highly recommend retirement.  It gives me more time for family, and kites.

We continue to build our community volunteer team, The Sky’s The Limit!, and this gives us manpower for many more workshops in more locations.  We gained a small grant from Japanese American Citizens League which stretched our out-of-pocket dollars and continued our program of free kites and free Festival. 

Our 2009 calendar reflects this expansion, with workshops in and out of Idaho.  Health fairs have been the most rewarding additions to our schedule – it is cool to give parents a low-tech low-cost outdoor activity to share with their children.  Check us out on MySpace or the official IKF web site to see what has been going on, and for a calendar full of free kitebuilding activities for all October 1-3, with added events before and after this third annual Festival in Pocatello/Chubbuck.  Another good website I update often because it’s easy and local is www.thejhub.com, as KITER.

We will make kites at the libraries, with veterans and seniors, with your family, and with other children during inservice training weekend in Idaho when all students are out of school.  Assembling stacks with families, building rokkaku for informal battles, and celebrating seniors are new to this year’s IKF.  We’ll also hold contests, parades, demonstrations of kite battles and INDOOR kiting, kite train contests, teddy bear and candy drops - and much more, as weather permits.

Earlier this year we touched base with Dean Turnblom of Sunrise Kites of Idaho Falls, making kites at his annual Kiting Just For Fun and also at the North Bannock County Fair.  Dean will be at IKF again this year, helping out and offering his beautiful kites for sale.

Antelope Island Balloon and Kite Stampede invited kiters this year, and I helped AJ of Breaking Wind of Cedar City UT, and Todd Copeland of Utah Kitefliers, with a busy kitemaking table for kids at this festival.  Todd will demonstrate extensively at IKF, and man the teddy bear/candy drop, which we can hold thanks to Gary Resnick of Florida who built a teddy rig for IKF.  Todd also has a fascinating aerial camera rig which gives kites-eye views!

Always amazing are Jay Maas, former fighter and buggy national champion, and his team of Roy and Renee.  They demonstrate fighter kite flying skills as well as battles, and their skills are awesome to behold.

Workshops

Sept 25, 5 pm:
Kitemaking with VFW at Veterans Memorial Bldg, 300 No Johnson, Pocatello

Oct 1, 10 am
Kitemaking at Portneuf Library, 5210 Stuart, Chubbuck

Oct 2, 10 am
Kitemaking at Marshall Library, 113 S Garfield, Pocatello

Oct 2, 6 pm
Fighter kitemaking at Portneuf Library

Oct 3, 10 am
Dinner and a Kite with Dad at Portneuf Library, fly with prizes afterward

Flying Field Activities

Oct 1-3, noon to 5 pm
Church park, Hawthorne at James beside Portneuf Library.

When wind permits:  kite train competition, teddy bear and candy drops, Portneuf Library best of kites flies with prizes, quad line kite and other demonstrations by Utah Kitefliers and Snake River Kiters clubs, fighter battle lessons.

Other weather: kite videos, indoor kite fly demonstrations and instruction, kitemaking table.

Websites - www.myspace.com/iskf or www.idahokitefestival.com