Kite amateurs, families, professionals, and hobbyists brought color to the fields – and to the skies, but only with the occasional good breeze – at Bern Township’s Youth Recreation Facility on Sunday’s “Go Fly a Kite! Day” in celebration of National Kite Month. The Sky Pilots Club and Berks County Parks and Recreation Department teamed up to host the 28th year of this county tradition.
Bright blue skies and white airy, sun-filtered clouds offered a picturesque backdrop to two fields of kites representing every color in a Crayola box. Whether an iconic children’s TV character on plastic, an intricately designed butterfly with vibrant streamers, or a multi-shaped professionally layered design – all generations and skill levels joined together to paint the sky. The wind was intermittent, but the erratic nature of the wind only energized the excitement level. As a breeze would pick up -dozens of kites would go from ground to sky in seconds; blending human art and interest with natural landscaped beauty in a transitory moment.
A few families entered a contest for their newspaper kites (which looked like anything but a typical diamond-shaped kites) engineered with complex designs and complex shapes. Other children built their own creations at the free sled kite workshop. While some entered to win, most were content to simply wait (the impatient way young kids wait) for the littlest breeze, just for the sheer enjoyment and proud smiles that a few seconds could offer when the wind would scoop up their plastic work of art and it would fly alongside the rest.
The sled kite workshop offered children the opportunity to create a kite in five steps. They design their kite image on plastic with markers, and with the assistance of volunteers – add in the sticks, connections, and string to make it flyable and finishing with the tails (to make it fun). Sled kites are easy and affordable to make; not to mention that they’re easy to fly. While the kids stare in awe at the awesome colors and the complicated designs of the store bought or handmade professional kites, nothing brought out smiles on their faces like flying a kite that they made and created themselves.
The Red Creek Wildlife Center offered Live Raptor Programs, demonstrating the similarities between these great birds and the act of flying a kite. Pony rides, face painting, and a gigantic bubble ball that rolled with a kid inside added more entertainment to the afternoon.
Just as intense as mastering the skill of kite flying, is appreciating those who master the skill of kite building. Bethlehem kite designer Tony Reiser has been an avid attender of this event for 15 to 20 years as a kite maker, and spoke proudly of his appliqued designs on his kites and banners that take weeks to make – some on display at the event.
Reiser became a kite builder as a result of retirement and a day out kiting with his son, which sparked a passion for more knowledge in the craft; he jumped on board the Lehigh Valley Kite Society the same year, as it originated in 1991, and rooted his years of experience in affiliation with this chapter of the American Kitefliers Association, which disbanded after a twenty year history. In 2008, the Lehigh Valley club was adopted as part of a Poconos kite club in East Stroudsburg.
A winner of several trophies in his days, Reiser’s first award was from the Smithsonian Kite Festival – only a few years after his introduction to kite making. He is especially proud of an award winning, eighty foot dragon kite that was the result of 100 hours of tedious and determined work.
Reiser’s love of kite flying, a hobby grown in passion since his retirement, has heightened in dedication in recent years despite his failing eyesight, which hinders his ability to continue his passion at the rate he would like. Reiser stood proudly aside of a blue and white marvel for a photograph – a kite that took him a week and a half to make, on display at the “Kite Art Exhibit” tent adjacent to the professional fliers. He said, “You can’t see the fancy work that goes into the kite, when it’s too high.”
With the degeneration of his eyes, his time is more limited to creating miniature Tyvek kites and giving them away to whatever lucky kids happen to walk by at the right time. This act validates his determination to never quit, and demonstrates the value inherent in this traditional event: amateur or professional, fan of skill or fan of design, there’s a timeless beauty to be found in kites, a beauty that annually draws hundreds of people to gather together and wait for the wind to blow hard enough and long enough to see the colorful diversity of tradition shared by generations flying freely in the sky.
