—
Bill Starkey first fell in love with kites — the basic 15-cent kind — at age 3 and only rediscovered kite flying about seven years ago.
“It’s changed,” he said. “There’s some great stuff now.”
Starkey, of Joplin, had hauled a vehicle full of “great stuff” out on Saturday morning to a grassy field behind Carousel Park on West Seventh Street for the annual Kites Over Route 66 Festival, which was set to attract kite lovers from near and far.
Starkey said he had brought all types of kites with him, but he was first preparing to fly a 19-foot Delta kite — that’s the triangular kind — that was decorated with the Stars and Stripes.
“I figure the Earth’s orbiting the sun, so send a kite up and you can tag the orbit,” he said.
Barbara Meyer, president of the American Kitefliers Association, was already flying two kites early Saturday morning — a 9-foot black-and-rainbow kite with 100-foot tails, and a 6-foot orange kite with 75-foot tails of her own design that she spent approximately 90 hours making.
She and her husband, Alex, both of Maple Grove, Minn., were preparing to launch a third kite and had another 15 stashed in their Mini Cooper. Having made the nine-hour drive to Joplin specifically for the festival, Meyer said the weather — despite a line of worrisome black clouds that blew past without any rain — was so far cooperating for flying kites.
Meyer, who began flying kites with her husband more than three decades ago, said she has always been drawn to the movement and the colors.
“With my kites, I put them in the sky, and people come over and talk to me,” she said. “I don’t have to talk to an art gallery to put on a show. I can put on my own show.”
Meyer said kites are appropriate for all ages.
The festival, which continues today, even includes a kite-making tent specifically for children.
“A 2-year-old can have fun; a 90-year-old can have fun,” she said. “It doesn’t matter your income level, your physical ability, your mental ability. It’s an activity that everybody can enjoy in some way.”
Nearby, Ron Lindner, of High Ridge, Mo., was flying a red, white and blue Delta kite with a 10-foot wind sock attached at the base. His wife, Charm Lindner, sat in the shade, untangling another kite’s tail.
So how many kites did they bring with them for the festival? The question was met with laughter from Ron Lindner as he moved over to his vehicle to do a rough count.
“I couldn’t even guess, I don’t think,” he said, finally giving the final estimate at 60 kites.
Charm Lindner said she prefers smaller kites, one of her favorites being a kite she made from an Elvis Presley postage stamp. Her husband, meanwhile, said he enjoys the solitude of the activity. He often puts on his headphones and listens to music while he flies kites.
“You’re here by yourself; you can get away from everything,” he said. “You don’t have to think about anything.”
And what does Starkey enjoy best about kite flying?
“Looking at the sky, and ... I don’t know,” he said, surveying the kites already in the air as he was preparing to fly his Delta kite. “You can’t put it into words. It’s something in the heart.”
If you go
The Kites Over Route 66 Festival continues today beginning at 9 a.m. until about 3 p.m. at the old Route 66 Speedway behind Carousel Park on West Seventh Street.
Local News
Related Photos
-
From Left: Stephanie Gaither of Buckner, Kansas watches as her Daughters Lyla 4, Sera 5, and Greta 5, shriek with delight as the Frog Kite piloted by Park Fleming of Little Rock Arkansas drifts into reach. The flying frog was part of the festivities to be found at the Kitefest Saturday. Globe/Bill Stewart
Related Links
Discussion
Kites Over Route 66 Festival continues today
- Local News
-
-
Missouri Southern art students to raise funds for Moore, Okla.
Throughout periods of historical change, art has always played an important role, Kahlief Steele contends. “A lot of art came out of the Renaissance period, and the same thing happened after the Great Depression,” said Steele, an art major who will start his junior year this fall at Missouri Southern State University.
-
City manager: CID owes Neosho $158,257
The Big Spring Plaza Community Improvement District owes Neosho $158,257, City Manager Troy Royer told the Neosho City Council on Tuesday night. Royer had filed an open-records request under the Missouri Sunshine Law with officers of the CID he could identify, which he had said wasn’t easy.
-
Ground to be broken for Pittsburg project; 10 homes planned for moderate-income residents
City and Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce officials will participate in a groundbreaking ceremony at 11 a.m. today at Lincoln Square. An open house also will be held in the home under construction in the new development.
-
Mike Pound: Office space no place for litter box
I knew my wife was lying when she told me to relax. “It won’t be that bad,” she said. “Relax. I’m sure all writers have had to put up with something like this at least once in their career.”
-
Donations helping JHS music programs rebuild after tornado
Building a repertoire for the Joplin School District’s orchestra program is a challenge for Kylee VanHorn. “Every time I get on the Internet and look at the music sites, there are so many pieces I want to purchase, and I just don’t have the money,” VanHorn said.
-
Defendant chooses not to testify in Miami murder trial
Donna Shirley testified Wednesday that Dustin Boggs had blood all over his hands and clothes when she encountered him in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart store the afternoon Danyel Borden was killed.
-
Former Jasper County official's sentencing slated today in fraud charges
Rita Hunter, former Jasper County public administrator, is to be sentenced today in federal court in Springfield. Hunter, who held office from January 2005 through December 2008, pleaded guilty last November to document fraud, a charge related to illegal obtaining of federal benefits.
-
MSSU board approves settlement agreement with fired president
Bruce Speck, whose contract as president of Missouri Southern State University was terminated last week, will receive the equivalent of a year’s salary as well as housing and health insurance benefits through the end of the year.
-
Mindenmines man charged in first-degree assault case
Barton County Prosecutor Steven Kaderly on Wednesday charged a Mindenmines man with first-degree felony assault of another man, who was in serious condition at a Joplin hospital. The felony charge against Charles Lee Kerby, 32, alleges that on Sunday he assaulted John Bryant, 58, causing serious physical injuries. The assault happened in the 800 block of Tucker Street in Mindenmines.
-
State auditors start review of Jasper County Circuit Court
Workers for the office of Thomas Schweich, Missouri state auditor, have started an audit of Jasper County Circuit Court. The state review was described as “routine” by Spence Jackson, a spokesman for Schweich’s office.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Missouri Southern art students to raise funds for Moore, Okla.
