Spring Sewing for Summer Soaring

The organizing of Spring Sewing For Summer Soaring is going well. We have booked three instructors and seminar rooms for May 7 and 8, 2011. The kite-making sessions offered will all be totally different and unique from the other. For two of the sessions the kite will require sewing, for the third session no sewing is necessary. Below are the three instructors and the kites they will be teaching in the class:

Saturday, May 7

Paul Horner “Optical Illusion” approximate cost $90.00

Sewing required

Paul will be offering a light wind ‘Optical Illusion’ Rokkaku kite. This is the kite he is presenting at Fort Worden in March and Paul is very keen to teach a class close to home. Those of us who attended the Parksville Kite Festival in July had the pleasure of seeing Paul flying this kite when most other kites were on the ground waiting for the wind.

Nigel Spaxman “Butterfly” approximate cost $25.00

Sewing required

Nigel will construct a “Butterfly Kite”. These kites look very striking especially when there are 5 or 6 in the sky at the same time. Kathy Goodwind from Seattle may be a special assistant instructor for this class.

Sunday, May 8

Dan Kurahashi “Ghost Train” approximate cost $20/20 segments

Dan will be teaching the assembly of one of his kite trains. This class will be using ‘heat-sealing’ to permanently bind the plastic pockets. The ‘heat-sealing’ takes a little more time but is worth it in the end since as we all know ‘tape is temporary’. Dan plans to teach us how to build a 20 segment train, but he will start with a complete shorter train first. Dan has taught these ‘heat-seal’ classes at Fort Worden. He will bring a few tools that you can borrow. if you wish to buy a kit (the specific model of soldering iron with replacement tips and heat controller) Dan can order a kit at cost for around $30.00. If you prefer to order your own Dan can email you information on what to buy.

The two Saturday classes lead by Nigel and Paul will be held in one large room at the Community Centre. Both classes will start at 9:00 am and you can stay until 9 pm to finish your kite.

On Sunday, Dan’s class will be the only class offered and starts at 8:30 am and you may stay until 9:00 pm to complete your kite. The length of time required for Dan’s class will depend on how many segments you would like on your kite train. Dan expects that one segment would take 4 hours to complete. Most people will probably try to catch the 3:00 pm or 5:00 pm ferry back to Horseshoe Bay so you will be able to finish before leaving. However, for those wishing to stay we will have the use of the Centre until 9:00 pm. Those who chose to stay will still be able to return to Vancouver by Tsawwassen as the last ferry leaves there at 10:45 pm.

This truly is a great opportunity to take advantage of some of the very gifted kite makers that we have in our club. If you choose to attend the Spring Sewing for Summer Soaring Kite Making Session you should select the classes you wish to participate in and register by March 31, 2011. This may seem early, however the instructors need time to prepare materials for the number of students they will have in their class. Also, in order to assure we receive the negotiated price for the rooms they should be booked by the beginning of April. Full payment is required prior to the first class on May 7.

The cost of the workshop is proposed as:

Conference & Registration Fee $65.00 for BCKA Members

$75.00 for Non-Members

Accommodation Fee $90.00 for the two days

The total cost of the weekend will be $155.00 plus the cost of the kite(s) you will be making. For those members who wish to attend for only one day, the registration fee would be half. Lunch for both days and dinner on Saturday are included in the price. Wayne and/or Jennifer will transfer to and from the ferry any guests who wish to come as a ‘walk on’ on the ferry. For those wishing to find their own accommodations the Community Centre is located in the downtown area of Parksville about 4 blocks to the beach where the Kite Festival is held each year. Attached is a rough plan of the times for the workshops. As this is our Clubs first attempt to have a weekend retreat there may be some changes. However, one thing is for certain, everyone that attends will come away with a great kite, lots of good memories and the desire to come back again the following year to do it all over again. We will be advertising in the Parksville area for anyone who is interested in kite making to join in on the fun and register for a class and join the club.

Again, please contact us as soon as possible so we can book any extra accommodations as well as start giving the instructors numbers.

Cathie Jung – cathiejung@shaw.ca – 604-451-0695

Wayne Pattison – kiter_wayne@telus.net – 250-954-0337