Festival windless but still a hit
Tara Grant and her 12-year-old son Ian were the first to launch
with their $10, Costco,
”
Red Baron
”
tri-plane kite.
Their previous kite, which drifted away after the string broke,
had an alien on it.
Festival windless but still a hit
Tara Grant and her 12-year-old son Ian were the first to launch with their $10, Costco, “Red Baron” tri-plane kite.
Their previous kite, which drifted away after the string broke, had an alien on it.
“I guess it went back to the mothership,” said Tara with a shrug.
“We’ve probed enough people!” yelled Ian, giving voice to the alien kite as he ran up the hill ahead of his mom to prepare the Red Baron for contact.
“My favorite kite was an old Barbie kite,” continued Tara.
“Thank God that one’s gone,” responded Ian without looking back.
With only fishermen looking on from the still waters of San Justo Reservoir below, Tara and Ian took turns running down the hill, hoping to catch a breeze which would keep the Baron aloft.
Apparently a good time to catch fish is not also a good time to fly a kite.
The first Hollister Kite Festival at San Justo Reservoir last week was the first in a series of events planned to encourage use of the recreation area. The festival was organized by Sharon Walters, a volunteer at the San Justo Reservoir County Park where her daughter and son-in-law are managers. Walters awarded prizes for the smallest, largest and most original kites to Hollister’s Katie Silva, Ian Grant and Graham Woods, respectively.
“We just wanted to do some fun things for the community and the family,” said Walters. “So many people are not aware that we have such a beautiful park up here.”
Apparently the kite flying community of Hollister has been waiting for a venue to get together. “All the people who came wanted to do it again,” said Walters. Walters is planning another kite festival “in a few weeks, towards the end of April.”
“Maybe we’ll do it once a month,” pondered Walters.
In the meantime there is the Trout Derby from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. today.
Graham Woods of Hollister, winner of most original kite, brought his new pirate ship kite which he purchased online for $35. Woods, a 5-year kite flying veteran, piloted his jolly roger twice as high as the next kite making it the most successful in terms of altitude. One of his strategies is to use a fishing pole and reel to control his kites when they reach extreme heights.
But Graham’s experience is no match for a calm, cool morning at San Justo Reservoir. The only wind that was felt throughout the morning was a cool ocean breeze, which cooled the out-of-breath kite pullers. A pair of 9-year-old legs, running at full speed, seemed to be the only way to keep a kite in the air for a decent amount of time.
Luckily Joseph Herrera was up to the challenge and probably had the most flight time of anyone who showed up by virtue of running laps up and down the length of the parking lot to keep air underneath his $1.99 B-2 stealth bomber kite from Walgreen’s. Of course he was also constantly out of breath for the entire kite festival, ending each flight session by collapsing onto his back to watch his kite listlessly descend to the wet grass.
Following in the footsteps of her cousins, 4-year-old Sarah Baker towed her Tinkerbell and Ariel (the Little Mermaid) kite around the park. She laughed and giggled, trying simultaneously to watch her kite and keep up with Joseph.
“She’s taking a nap today,” announced her mom, Nicole, as she watched her daughter’s face grow red with exertion.
Eventually all of the kite-flying initiates learned the hard lesson of keeping the kite away from trees and buildings.
“Joe, this is part of kite flying,” said Walter, noticing the forlorn look on her grandson’s face when his kite string caught on a tree and pergola, “getting it un-snagled.”
“Do you like that?” asked Walter of the kite flying spectators, referring to the new term she had accidently coined. “It is un-snagged and untangled together.”
For information on future events, call San Justo Resevoir County Park at 831-638-3300.
