STRING AND A PRAYER

PALMER — Tak Omega loves to be told to go fly a kite.

The president of AlasKiters kite-flying club, Omega was all smiles Saturday watching dozens of veteran, amateur and first-time kite-fliers dot the greenbelt behind Rusty’s at Dahlia Street in downtown Palmer. Sunny skies and breezy conditions made the weather perfect for the club’s first Alaska Kite Festival, he said.

“One issue in the Valley is you get really strong winds, but they shift a lot,” Omega said. “Some people consider it too windy, but it’s a good, strong wind. Today, this is great, and it’s awesome to see a lot of people having a good time.”

He admits to being one who welcomes an admonishment that would put others off.

“When I’m told to go fly a kite, I say, ‘OK,’” Omega said. “I’m usually doing that at the time anyway, so it works out.”

With just a little experience, 8-year-old Lydia Bushey became confident in her kite-flying skills, keep up her colorful red-and-black ladybug kite.

“I’m flying it, with my mom’s help, a little bit,” she said. “It’s red with ladybug spots on it. I like seeing it up in the sky and being able to, like, move it.”

Getting the kite in the air “is kind of hard — Mommy, I can get it up myself,” she added. “You pull it backwards and forwards and, if you pull it, it goes, like, up. You let out more string and keep pulling with that, but sometimes it doesn’t work. If you pull it this way (right) it goes right, and if you pull it to the left, it goes to the left — sometimes.”

That helpful mommy is Lysi Bushey of Wasilla, who said the festival was a good idea and a great family activity. She was also thankful the weather cooperated.

“I’m glad it’s not windy or dusty,” she said.

About 20 yards north of the Busheys, Palmer resident Jack Horner — along with sons Del, 7, and Declan, 5 — were launching Prof. Horn’s Airship, an elaborate pirate ship kite.

“This was a birthday present for my youngest one from grandma a couple years back,” Jack said, trying to get the kite airborne. “Argh! I say that only when it goes down. We’re having a little difficulty so far.”

Being out in the sunshine with his sons brings back memories, Jack said.

“My dad made a couple kites out of twine and newspaper with me when I was a kid,” he said. “I would love to do that with my boys as well. I think it’s great out here.”

For Declan, trying to fly the pirate ship came after some practice with one of his older brother’s kites.

“I got my big brother’s kite — which is now broken — caught in a tree,” Declan said, adding he liked seeing the other kites at the festival. “They’re fun to watch and they seem like different things flying in the air. I kite battled with my friend, too, and he finally wrapped the string with mine and it killed my kite.”

While Saturday’s event, a collaborative effort of the AlasKiters, Rusty’s restaurant and Northwind Kites — drew plenty of parents and kids, there were some serious kite-fliers on hand as well.

Tim Tollis, and Anchorage resident and AlasKiters club member, brought his 36-square-foot sled kite.

A sled is basically a single piece of fabric that catches the air. The one he flew Saturday had a black border and colorful mosaic inside, with a long tail.

Because it’s so large, he uses an 80-pound Teflon line staked into the ground. He uses climbers pulleys to reel it in.

The force generated by such a large kite “is all dependent upon the wind,” Tollis said. And with an 80-pound line, “I’m kind of fudging it with this one. If the wind picks up any more, I’m going to a 500-pound line.”

A little later, he pulls the kite in and attaches another large red-and-black circular decoration called “line laundry.” It can’t fly on its own, but on the same line as his sled, it spins playfully on the same line.

“The point today is to promote kiting,” Tollis said, adding flying kites isn’t boring like some may believe. “Actually, it builds patience, especially when you don’t have wind.

“But we also have light-wind kites, we have kites that will put up in 20-, 25-mph winds. It’s just about getting people involved in kiting.”

A couple of those people were Palmer residents Anna Folsom and her 3-year-old daughter, Lila. While SpongeBob Squarepants may “live in a pineapple under the sea,” on Saturday he was happy as a clam on their kite suspended from a string over downtown Palmer.

“I guess he has to up for some air sometimes,” Anna quipped.

They were out and about when they saw the festival, and decided to stop.

“We live in Palmer and were going to a little bake sale in town and just decided to come fly a kite,” she said. “It’s perfect for a windy Palmer day.”

Lila was shy talking about her favorite kite, but pointed to a large Red Baron flying overhead.

While “we both started out pretty strong” flying their SpongeBob kite, “maybe my interest is lasting longer,” Anna said. “She’s having fun now rolling down the grass hill.”

As for that Red Baron menacing the peaceful skies over Palmer, that was the work of local resident Keith Molina, who didn’t want to miss a chance to fly the unique kite he found at an aviation museum in Seattle.

With the Red Baron and Prof. Horn’s Airship sharing the same skies, it seemed a showdown was in the works. Who would come out ahead in such a battle is subjective.

“Oh, obviously the Red Baron,” Molina said, pointing out its superior technology and maneuverability.

Not so fast, said Horner. “Oh, no, no. This air ship would definitely take over. Why? One word — cannons.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.