Special to the Parade
It seems like only yesterday that Bill and Susie Doan of B&S Kites hosted the first ever SPI Kite Fest. As the years passed by, the festival grew and in 2010 they were awarded Kite Festival of the Year by Kite Trade Association International. What started out as a mere ‘fun fly’ was miraculously one of the most recognized and largest attended festivals in the country.
On Feb. 2 and 3, the 13th Annual SPI Kite Fest will take place on South Padre Island. The festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the flats just north of the Convention Centre. Admission is free and you are encouraged to come out and experience this event.
Kiters from literally all over the United States and Canada will descend upon the Island for the weekend to color the sky with their fascinating kite displays and outstanding choreographed routines.
Returning for their sixth consecutive and final year will be the world renowned kite team – iQuad. The first time the team performed at SPI Kite Fest, its members fell in love with the Island and the Texas hospitality, but after literally traveling the world for the past several years, the team has decided to take an indefinite hiatus. So, if you’ve ever planned on seeing Team iQuad, SPI Kite Fest is one of the festivals on their 2013 farewell tour.
Filling the sky with their giant size kites of all shapes and sizes will be Doug and Linda LaRock of Yakima, Washington, Phil and Barb Burks of Portland, Oregon and Dr. Gayle Woodul of Marble Falls, Texas.
There will be deltas and stars, fish and octopus, cats and dogs. If you can imagine it, you might just see it floating in the sky. And if you’ve never seen two stacks of Trilby kites with tails being flown together – you should – it’s spectacular. The four-man Team EOL from Austin, along with many other individual and pair routines, is scheduled to perform as well.
It’s a jam-packed festival – there are kite displays, kite performances, kite giveaways, a raffle, a silent auction and food. So bring a lawn chair, come to the Island and enjoy the whole weekend.
But it doesn’t stop there. Kites can be flown indoors; yes, there will an Indoor Kite Exhibition on Friday evening, Feb. 1, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the South Padre Island Convention Centre.
So make South Padre Island your destination for the first weekend in February. For more information, call B&S Kites at (956) 761-1248, email at bskites@hotmail.com, visit www.spikitefest.com or the SPI Kite Fest event page on Facebook.
Hope to see you there!
Comments