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Wildwoods International Kite Festival


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Hi folks,

Well, it’s that time of year again to begin communications about WIKF! I hope this finds you & yours all well and enjoying this relatively easy winter season we have had.

There will be a host of changes for this year’s event as follows . . .

First, there will be a simultaneous event taking place which will utilize much of the Convention Center (CC) on Sat & Sun. What this obviously equates to is at this very moment, I do not have a place for indoor kite flying for these two days. Rest assured, I understand how important this is to many folks and am working diligently on securing another location. There is the possibility of not having any indoor space on Sat or Sun; the other side to the coin is that we do have availability of one of the halls (as we've previously utilized) on Mon. I've already reached out to my op’s folks for this aspect and they are game to move forward with Mon's World Indoor Kite Competition, so that WILL still take place. I am also looking in to the Indoor Mega Fly returning. Please note, the registration form will indicate indoor kite flying is still taking place as I am cautiously optimistic!

Second, while we will still be breaking bread together on Sun evening, we will not have a formal banquet in the CC; rather, an a la carte dinner will take place at a local restaurant. Per-party checks will be available. PLEASE ENSURE that when you complete your registration forms you notate if you'll be attending the Sun night dinner as I MUST provide the restaurant a head count.

Other changes / confirmations include:

* there will be no indoor or outdoor workshops;

* there will be no kite exhibit room;

* there will be no SFP office in the CC - the new "office" will be within the Festival Field Tent (FFT);

* kites will still be hung in the south lobby;

* the auction on Sat night will still take place in the ballroom;

* registration for Fri afternoon and Sat a.m. will take place at the FFT;

* kite sales will take place in the FFT;

* no worries, I'm still getting the port-a-pottie

The registration form will be completed within two weeks and as always, as updates become available I’ll post them here and to the local kite clubs. If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me!

Thanks very much everyone and I look forward to seeing all of you in a couple of months!

Warmly,

Beatrix

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Something tells me that this new event is going to become the new Memorial Day weekend tradition in Wildwood. While I'm fully behind honoring all those who have served and died for our country, I bet this spells the coming of a new weekend for the Kite Festival though. :/

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi all,

As promised, here are some updates . . .

* Re indoor flying & competition, while we are definitively having the indoor competition on Monday (practice will be from 9:30am-11:00 with the competition beginning at 11:00am), there is “no room at the Inn” for Sat or Sun usage of the convention center. In researching other opportunities, there is one potential option which is Crest Pier Community Center on Ocean Ave. Wildwood Crest, six blocks south of our most southern field. The ceiling is an “A frame” ceiling with the lowest height being approximately 24’ and the highest height being approximately 40’; there are lights, banners and a ball sound system that hang from the ceiling at various points. Where I can on the forums and club web sites, I will include two photos; if I can’t include the photos here and you’d like to see them, please email me under separate cover. The caveat to this facility is that there is a DAILY fee – under four hours of usage is $300/day, over four hours is $400/day –if any of you are interested in this option and paying for it (this is not a cost SFP can incur), you MUST let me know on or before Monday, April 23, 2012. If the indoor kite flying community would like to discuss it amongst themselves and have one point person contact me to answer any questions or to arrange for payment, I’m certainly open to it.

* The registration form is completed and is attached where I can. It will also be available on the SFP web site very soon.

Other updates will be coming soon (next week) and as always, I hope you’re all doing well and looking forward to seeing you next month!

Warmly,

Beatrix

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Hi again all,

Here are some more updates . . .

Re lodging reservations, if you haven’t already made them, make them now – there is another large new event that is taking place this year over Memorial Day weekend and rooms will be going fast.

Once again the Friday evening all-you-can-eat buffet social is being put on by our one and only South Jersey Kite Flyers club for the mere price of $10 per person. This event is a staple at the festival, the food is awesome, the camaraderie is great, and the club & volunteers do a spectacular job – and there’s usually a raffle or two (or more) going on!

Speaking of food, Sunday evening’s dinner gathering will take place at Little Italy (our normal Monday evening spot) at 5401 Atlantic Ave., Wildwood Crest at 7:00pm. Take a leisurely seven-block stroll with the gang as we meet up on the front stoops of the host hotel, drive yourself down, or hop on the infamous tram car. Keep in mind, this is the area’s opening weekend and the restaurant will be VERY busy – they are doing us a true favor in even taking our large group and they will attempt to accommodate us as best as possible. Having said this, there are a few items you may wish to note . . .

* please, be sure to indicate if you are attending on the registration form as I must provide the restaurant with a head count;

* Wildwood Crest is a dry town – if you’d like to engage in consuming alcoholic beverages, there is a liquor store 1 ½ blocks away;

* while our reservation is for 7:00pm, there may be a slight delay;

* for those of you who attend Monday evening’s dinner here, you know we usually have the back room; while this is the game plan for Sunday nights dinner, we may not have the room all to ourselves;

* all tables must be full, i.e., if there is a four-top then one party of four or two parties of two need to fill the table; if there’s three folks for a four-top, then I wouldn’t worry too much about the fourth seat;

* each party, not each individual may request their own check; keep in mind this will take your order a few more moments to get to you;

* the full menu will be available for you to order from, there are no restrictions nor a set menu;

* because we will be a large party, 18% gratuity will automatically be added to each party’s check

Regarding Monday nights dinner, a second stop at Little Italy sounds great with me as their food is great and their menu is diversified, though if anyone has any other suggestions, please feel free to email me (again, reservations need to be made).

Thanks much everyone and as always, I’m looking forward to seeing you in just a few short weeks!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all,

Here are some more updates . . .

* the “Opening of the Beaches” ceremony will take place at 1:30pm, not the 12:00pm as in previous years;

* please be sure to complete your registration form and snail-mail or email to me asap – we are only four weeks away from the event! Non-competitor registration is free – if you even remotely think you may fly, I do need a completed registration from you for insurance purposes – and don’t forget to indicated if you’ll be joining us for Sunday night’s dinner!;

* while our auction inventory is turning out nicely, there’s always room for more spectacular pieces – feel free to show off your workmanship & pride and see how high the bid goes for your work(s) of art!

* SFP is taking on the opportunity of being the kite sales vendor this year which will be housed in the Festival Field tent . The tent will be larger this year with one half for registration / op’s and the other half for kite sales. Event TShirts and pins (they’re very colorful this year!) will be available as usual in addition to a new item, a kids white TShirt with a kite-themed black outline that the child can color in themselves with four different colored fabric markers that are included. We’ll have some great product so be sure to stop in and check it out!

Until the next update, be well and we’ll see you very soon!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Everyone,

Well, we’re just two weeks away from the longest running kite festival in the U.S. - yippee!

You may wish to ensure that you complete your registration form asap! The pre event deadline date for us to receive this is this upcoming Saturday, May 12. The registration form can be found on the Sky Festivals website under Events with a downloadable form. Please be sure to include whether you’ll be joining us for the Sunday evening dinner as I must give the restaurant a head count in advance.

We’re still open to accepting auction donations (which can be dropped off at on-site registration in the Festival Field tent) and have received some nice items to date – we’d love to include you piece(s), so feel free to bring them by, and many thanks in advance!

Don’t forget to stop by the Kite Sales side of our tent, we have a myriad of kites and kite related products to select from and it’s all pretty cool stuff!

The World Indoor Kite Competition will take place on Monday morning in the East Hall of the Wildwoods Convention Center. We are lucky to have this hall with the magnificent view overseeing the ocean via the full-glass wall – that is a treat in itself! Practice is from 9:30-11:00am with the competition beginning immediately thereafter.

The official opening of the beach ceremony has been changed once again, it is now taking place at 12:30pm on Friday.

Thanks so much to all of you for your support of the event in whatever capacity you are participating, it is truly very much appreciated. I look forward to seeing you all in two short weeks!!!

Warmly,

Beatrix

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Hi all...

I'll be there Friday and Saturday.

My nephew (who's very dear to me) is going in the Army right after he graduates high school and would like me to be at the family's Memorial Day BBQ on Sunday (which I've missed for the past four years), so I will be there this year.

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I'm trying to work out the details on a very abbreviated trip. Since getting laid off from my job, I Really can't afford it, but I miss y'all terribly and I want to be there!!! At present, I'm aiming to be there Friday and Saturday.

Edit: I would like to express my supreme gratitude to my Rev Family for making it possible for me to be there this weekend. I really didn't think I was going to make it this year. Y'all are The Best... Truly! :throb:

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One side benefit to overlapping events* in Wildwood this coming weekend is that there will be fireworks on Friday night at 10pm! I've never seen one of Morey's displays before, but I've heard how awesome they are. Good of them to wait until the Night Fly is done, right?

* = http://www.wildwoodsnj.com/heroes/

* = http://www.wildwood365.net/2012/05/wildwoods-2012-summer-season-kicks-off.html

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i was at the 100 th anniversery it was sweet to do a night fly to the biggest firework show possable. Ethan and i enjoyed the night and i said to my self this should have been the weekend we did this festival. carolyn i hear ya work is tough these days i havent had much this year so ive been cash poor and doing it raising 2 kids but hey its all worth it.. Ethan will be there saturiday so come on over and say hi to him he wants to see you all.i have not been here much i really hope you guys didnt think i gave up kiting because i will never do that.its just been a rough time for me and kiting is the drug of choise for me to get therugh it.. cant wait for you all to come back to my backyard. someday ill hope to have a place where i can have you all over and show you like i did wayne and kathy the really cool places to fly here.. love to all and safe travels here..BETRIX A BIG THANKS TO YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO LADY I OWE YOU BIG!!!!

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Barb & I are looking forward to seeing all at the Woods this weekend. Got my midvent repaired from a broken bungee washer and got a new idea to try for more light for the night flight, so am ready to fly.

Antman, it will be great to see you again. Please provide the good weather we have learned to expect.

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