For 8 years now, my good friend Chris Stankus has organized a weekend of great kite flying and this was no exception.

Virginia Beach was the location of day one for this annual event and the sun came out and the people came out and the wind came up.... a little.

It was the perfect setting of sun, surf, spectators and seekers of the wind.

The temperature was in the 70s and there was a great turnout of kite fliers from Florida to Canada and plenty of people on the boardwalk to watch as the wind came in off the water.
There was plenty of food and drink and Skydog kites to be bought and flown...

What more could we ask? Well, for more wind. While it was coming, it came smooth as silk but alas, it remained very light or non existent for much of the day.

Not to worry though, there was still much fun had by all. There were kitemaking classes offered by Archie Stewart which produced hundreds of kites that flew just fine in the wind. The ultra light kites came out and graced the sky and I worked at keeping the Big Dog Series Kites in the air while it blew. I found that most all of the Skydog Kites I had up flew great in the light conditions.

There were also numerous demos flown for the crowd and I broke out the Black Dog UL and did a few demonstrations as well. Then I did a few pairs routines with the Dream On.

Everyone enjoyed the customary bol races and the rally around the American flag that were organized by Terry Murray and Kitebus Festivals. Terry provided the perfect music and most professional announcing that one could offer, as usual.

Day two took us to the City Park in Portsmouth where the wind again came in off the water and was pumped up to 15-20 and above for much of the day.

The sky remained filled kites large and small and the same activities were repeated throughout the day.

The event organizers once again hosted a very enjoyable two day event. This one will be one that I'll never forget as for the first time ever, I lost a kite in a tree!! That was not a happy moment but the rest of the weekend was wonderful! I look forward to attending once again next year. (I probably see my kite still in that tree!)

What a Big day we had down at the Whalehead Club in Corolla, NC celebrating Spring Break and the start of the kite season.

Flying Smiles Kites hosted their first Spring Fun Fly there and we brought out many Skydog kites to fly and enjoy throughout the day. Including the Big Dog Series kites. The 24 foot Dragon was the hit of the day!!

There was a nice little sound system set up and we had kitemaking for the kids and several hundred people came by and joined in the fun.

The day started out with perfect wind and as the day progressed, so did the velocity of the wind! By mid afternoon we were experiencing some pretty severe gusts and indeed had to do some kite rescues from hungry trees but in the end all kites were saved and sent safely home with there owners.
The shop had a good day too! Plenty of early season traffic to get things started.

I look forward to heading down again in the near future. Perhaps to join in on one of the weekly Tuesday evening fun flys.

Thanks Cath and Eliot for the hospitality and support!

Soooo... Here we are! It's Spring the weather is fine and our new Big Dog Series Kites are AWESOME! Skydog is now making bigger kites to decorate the sky with including 24' Dragons, Bigger Best Fliers and Delta Kites, Cool looking Lifters and 7 foot Rokkakus!

We had a great trade show in Vegas and all of the new product is on it's way! Dodd and I have already enjoyed some incredible flying as the temperatures have continued to rise nice and early this Spring.

I had a great time bringing out the Big Dogs at the 44th Annual Great Deleware Kite Festival at Henlopen State Park, Lewes, DE this weekend along with celebrating 19 seasons of business with the Rehoboth Toy and Kite Company. Bee and Rachel enjoyed the best weather and turnout in years for both events and we look forward to possibly getting together again sometime this summer to offer more appreciation for the great kite customers and enthusiasts that have continued to support our passion!

The season is just starting and I can't wait to get out and fly more of the Big Dogs!!