Every year National Kite Month helps us bring in Spring with a joyous lifting of all of our kites high into the sky. But why do we need a month to celebrate our passion when all of us fly kites year round? Well lets start off by saying that it must mean that our passion and our hobby is pretty amazing to have a WHOLE MONTH dedicated to it instead of just a day. NKM is a great time to remember what brought us to the field in the first place, how we felt the first time we put the line in our hand, and what it was like the first time we met up with fellow kiters and shared our passion. NKM is about not only reliving the greatest moments of our kite flying history, but making new memories and reaching out to new people and introducing them to ‘Life Behind the Lines’.
In the next month as we gear up to celebrate NKM, we are going to be gathering together stories, photos, and various tidbits to share with all of our members. Each day we are going to feature one of our members. If you want to be featured during NKM please fill out this simple questionnaire. (http://goo.gl/forms/SW5iJOOTyr) We promise we are not out to collect your super secret personal information and share it with the world, we just want to know more about you, and help your fellow members get to know you better.
Each day we will also be sharing stories from the archives, interviews with some of the top builders and fliers in the world, and a special feature on a particular kite. Do you have a suggestion for ones you would want to see or a lingering question that you want answered that might be interesting for others to know as well? Contact us directly via email or our Facebook page.
Maybe you are sitting there asking yourself “But what can I do to celebrate National Kite Month?”. Don’t worry, we have you covered, try some of the following from our list. Or for the really adventurous, there is one for everyday!
- Fly a kite!
- Fly two kites!
- Fly a Kite with a buddy!
- Take photos of you or your friends flying kites and share them! Don’t forget to include the following hashtags so we can all celebrate together! #kite #NKM #Goflyakite
- Take Video of some kite flying and share it! Don’t forget to include the following hashtags so we can all celebrate together! #kite #NKM #Goflyakite #30daysofkites
- Give a kite away to a random person.
- Join the AKA if you are not a member already!
- Give an AKA membership to someone you know or someone you just met on the kite field.
- Host a kite flying meet up at your local park.
- Fly a kite where no one would think you can fly a kite. (you indoor and urban kiters know what we are talking about!)
- Write a blog post about your favorite kiting memory and share it with everyone. But wait… that’s not all, don’t forget some photos and those fun hashtags! #kite #NKM #Goflyakite #30daysofkites
- Try to learn a new kite trick.
- Try flying a kite that you have never flown before. Are you a die hard Rev pilot? Why not try a box kite?
- Make a vow to compete at least once in the upcoming season if you have never competed before. If you are a seasoned competitor, make a vow to help a novice get on the competition field!
- Set up a kids kite building workshop at a school, daycare, YMCA or other facility. (Bonus points to those that know the AKA has the resources to help you if you want to do this one!!!)
- Build your first kite if you have never built one before. You seasoned builders… you know what you should do. Show someone how to build a kite or sign up to teach a workshop in the next year and make sure everyone knows you are doing it!
- Make plans to attend the greatest party in Kiteland… the AKA CONVENTION in Seaside, Oregon!
- If you are a beach kite flier, try flying in the mountains. If you are always found outdoors, go fly indoors. Change it up a little and have fun learning a new skill set!
- Make ‘kite valentines’ and send them out to all of your friends. Cut out a simple kite shape and write a note about how special that person is. When they ask why you are giving them valentines in April, tell them as loud as you can “BECAUSE I LOVE KITES THAT MUCH!!!!”
- Try to set a new world record with kites. Think you can beat the longest time flying or the highest a kite can go, what about the most kites flown by one person at a time? SHATTER that record and let the world know!
- Get some like minded individuals together and plan a feather swap at your next kite event or festival! Each person makes 20-30 feathers and they are free to be SUPER creative. What about no-sew feathers, or ones made from paper and found materials? Get together and exchange those feathers and see what each person brings!
- Grab your kite buddies and set up a kite flying decathlon. What ten activities would you include?
- Make a kite banner and take it with you everywhere you go. Off to the coffee store, carry that banner proudly. Let is stand proudly in front of the coffee shop. Bonus points if you photograph this journey and share it with everyone!
- Fly a kite! yes… it’s on here again, but kite flying is cool and we should do more of it more often!
- Make give away kite kits, with a big sticker that says “FREE KITE TO GOOD HOME”. Leave these at your favorite hangouts. Drop off a few at the library, or the coffee shop. Oh what’s this in the newspaper basket at my favorite deli, a free kite? (Oh and don’t forget to include a slip of paper that tells the lucky recipient where they can get more information!)
- Organize a kite festival, or encourage an upcoming festival to include kites as a part of their festivities.
- Hand your absolute favorite kite to someone and tell them to fly it. Sit back, don’t stress out, and remind yourself of the beauty of kite flying.
- Plan to attend a kite flying skills class or find a pilot with different way of flying than you, and have them teach you how it is they do the things they do.
- Read Kiting magazine from front to back, every word, then share that magazine with everyone around you! How many people can you get to read your copy?
- Step up and volunteer for the AKA. Have you ever been the field director at an AKA event? What about writing an article for Kiting magazine?
Well, we hope you have fun with the list, and look to the next few weeks as we gather together and get ready to celebrate the wonder that is National Kite Month!!!
