Dozens of Disney characters, animals and streamers dotted the sky above the Frontier Sports Complex during the 11th annual Frontier Kite Fly Festival, which encouraged hundreds of families to unplug and get outside.
Chicago Kite manager David Zavell said the many hours of preparation for Sunday were worth it “just to have everybody enjoy the day. No more computers. Bring out the families.”
Zavell brought in about two dozen volunteer experts from across the Midwest to the Naperville festival to launch some gigantic kites and demonstrate how stunt kites can twist, turn, dive and weave by controlling four lines.
“This is a huge event,” said Samantha Walden, special events coordinator for the Naperville Park District. “Most come out to see the extremely large kites. The octopus is bigger than a school bus,”
While many kids and adults tried their hand at flying kites, some children headed to the inflatables, where they got unlimited jumps for $5.
“I don’t remember something like this when I was a kid,” said Jeffrey Gustis, whose 3-year-old daughter Amaya tried out her first bounce house. “This is cool. It’s great to see this kind of organized activity.”
Entertainment and activities during the event included face-painting, crafts and stage acts including Miss Jamie’s Farm, the Neuqua Valley High School Steel Band and two top finishers from last year’s Battle of the Bands competition.
Zavell first teamed up with representatives from the park district and city to create a kite festival in Naperville in 2007, after sponsoring similar events in nearby communities. He now helps coordinate 22 different kite festivals across the United States, including one in Chicago that draws 20,000 people.
“It’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of work,” said Zavell, who runs a kite store in Chicago with his parents, Bob and Dolly Zavell. They got him involved after they bought a kite shop 25 years ago, and now David Zavell says his own children are kite enthusiasts and help out at festivals in Iowa, where they attend college.
Getting a giant kite in the air is not for beginners, Zavell said. “The beast is 20 feet long and 18 feet wide with a 150-foot tail. It will lift a person,” he said.
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One of the helpers, Sis Vogel of Grinnell, Iowa, said kites come in all sizes and are fun to operate.
“We have some lightweight kites and heavy kites. We have indoor kites that take no wind at all,” said Vogel, a member of American Kitefliers Association who came to the festival with her husband. “The challenge is getting the wind to cooperate.
“We’re both in our mid-70s. It keeps us young, off the couch. It’s great exercise. The people we meet are incredible.”
Diane Moca is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.