Waking up to the amazing sunrise this morning, and finding a fresh cup of coffee
waiting got us all charged and excited to kick this party off with style. What a great start to the Convention! While folks were out setting up the sport kite fields in the drizzle, convention goers filed into the Seaside Convention Center for registration. While others waited for their registration packets, some intrepid souls took to the floor of the Pacific Room for indoor flying. Convention Chair Philip Whitaker, Executive Director and Magazine Editor Daniel Prentice, and ‘Ghost of the AKA Past’ Mel Hickman could all be found behind the deck welcoming attendees. Marla Miller manned the bag raffle entry with complete zeal and an upbeat attitude that is sure to warm everyone’s heart as they come in out of the rain.

Corey Jensen, Forever attending the Convention
As convention attendees checked in, they noticed something special about their name tag this year. Everyone, if they flipped their badge over, discovered that they were also wearing Corey Jensen’s name tag. This is an ode to not only a past AKA President, but a life time ambassador of kite flying.
When John Lutter, current AKA President was asked what he thought it was that made this convention special, he said that he noticed people he had either not seen in years, or had not expected to come were walking through the door excited to join the party. Truly it is a magical thing to see so many wonderful people from so many different walks of life come together with the same purpose and the same passion.
Update to the convention schedule: The Memorial Fly will happen Saturday Afternoon after the mass ascension. Rok Battles on Saturday will be approximately an hour later than scheduled. Tuesday at 2pm Mass Ascension will now be ‘Native American Themed’. Come out and show your best pieces!

If you haven’t had a chance to check out our AKA Facebook page (don’t need t have a Facebook account to see it!) do go over and check out the fun action. Not only are there photos and updates, but there is also video updates, including a new series we are calling ‘3 Question Interview’. It is a fun game that is sure to produce some fun and exciting answers, and give us all a chance to know each other better. (facebook.com/akasocial)