****** WHERE THE
BUFFALO BISON ROAM ******
I'm back from AIS, my first kite festival!! I feel
elated..... I had the most amazing time! My desire to fly kites and be around kite-people is stronger than ever.
Rather than repeat what Ben spoke of, I'll tell of my experiences.....
The weather was great for kite flying, IMO. Friday, Xtra Vents were the order of the day (3rd time I've had mine out), Saturday was perfect for a Mid-Vent, Sunday was perfect for a Standard. The kite field is huge, easily twice the size of the main festival area. You could be deep out in the field and still hear the live music, which was cool. It was awesome to watch the iQuad demos, and to watch all the amazing Revs, Rok kites, SLKs, and DLKs in the air playing around.
The music was good, the food was exceptional! Plenty of vendor tents to buy something delicious to eat or souvenirs to take home. Fun family activities too, like kite making for the kids.
I'll let everyone in on a secret: I'm not the most social Rev flier out there. I'm a bit guarded when first meeting people, I'm used to "playing my cards close to my chest", so to speak, and it takes me some time to really warm up to most new acquaintances. This was not the case around the kite builders/fliers at AIS! After I came out of my shell on Saturday, I found that everyone was so friendly and accommodating... This community is REALLY something special. By Sunday, I felt like I was part of the group, laughing and joking and telling stories with everyone. Still, I was so nervous! But next time I will not waste any time sitting on the sidelines; I will jump right in to meeting and greeting everyone because it now feels more than safe to do so.
Speaking of the community, check out who I met/was hanging out with:
Watty, Ben, JB, Penny, Bazzer, Monkey, Steve de Rooy, TK, Laura, the Rev Rider's own Laura "Love 2 Fly" Berg, Jose Sainz, Paul de Bakker, Scott Hampton, Simon Crafts, Ron Gibian, Kevin Bayless, Kent from A Wind of Change, Corey from WindPower Sports, Dean Jordan, Rachel..... All top-notch, class people! It was very important to me that my sister Beth had a good time, and all of the above people went out of their way to help Beth feel included and her company wanted - I can't say thank you enough
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!
Downsides to the experience: I didn't get the chance to say "goodbye" to everyone. Here's why - while chatting with everyone Sunday evening, I didn't notice I was standing on an anthill - I was bitten
at least 10 times on my right leg/calf and 6 times on my left leg. Within a couple hours, I could barely walk out of the festival. My right calf has a huge egg-sized lump on it, and the ants bit the area around my right ankle to the point where I'm having trouble flexing my foot. I'll bring Off next time or some other insect repellant.
I hope my new-found friends don't consider me rude; I bid farewell to all in the immediate area, but couldn't trek out to find the rest; I was having trouble walking.
It is official; I am hooked on this kite festival atmosphere and I will attend as many more as possible from now on!
In response to your question, Jynx, there is camping on the island, the hotels are about a 20 minute drive to/from the festival. In fact, most of the hotels are situated on the road that takes you right to the island, making travel a breeze. The Hilton Garden Inn was a fantastic place to stay!
What a job
See you there, Ben!
but I'll finish up the photos on the "Masterpiece Challenge" tomorrow cause I'm fried......
