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Indoor Kite Festival Will Fly High on Oregon Coast |
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Covering 180 miles of Oregon coast travel: Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Manzanita, Nehalem, Wheeler, Rockaway, Garibaldi, Tillamook, Oceanside, Pacific City, Lincoln City, Depoe Bay, Newport, Wadport, Yachats & Florence.
2/23/07
Secrets of the Season |
Indoor Kite Festival Will Fly High on Oregon Coast
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| Performers do more than fly kites |
(Lincoln City, Oregon) - “Where are the fans,” you’ll find yourself asking.
One Lincoln City event constantly causes this query every year, where kites – normally used outside, in the very-much moving air of the Oregon coast – are flown indoors in a gravity-defying display of fascinating technique.
As
kite fliers and organizers alike prepare for Lincoln City’s fourth
annual Indoor Kite Festival, they once again brace for the inevitable
question. Expecting giant whirling blades and machines generating a roar
reminiscent of the last scene of “Casablanca,” attendees always
seem surprised there is no wind of any kind inside the Taft High School
7-12 gymnasium.
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| Kite flying is big in Lincoln City year-round |
Instead, it's the motion and movement of the people pulling the strings that keeps the kites above the floor. Constantly moving, their arms, legs, hands -- their entire bodies -- are more of a blur that the kites they wield.
Lincoln City Vacation Homes There’s something for everyone among this selection of wondrous homes: smaller homes with a view to a large house that sleeps 15. All the homes are either oceanfront or just a few steps away from the sand – all with a low bank access and fantastic views. Most are in the Nelscott area; one is close to the casino. You’ll find a variety of goodies, depending on the home: fireplaces, multiple bedrooms, dishwashers, Jacuzzis, washer/dryers, hot tubs, cable TV, VCR, barbecues; there’s a loft in one, and another sprawling home has two apartments. Pets are allowed in some homes – ask ahead. Each comes with complete kitchens so you’ll have a home away from home. Most have the seventh night free. Prices range from winter $85 to summer $230 per night. www.getaway2thecoast.com. 541-994-8778. |
The kite festival happens March 30 to April 1, at the Taft High School in Lincoln City.
Coming from as far away as Canada, the festival hosts nine internationally known performers, who choose to return every year to one of the premier indoor kite flying events in the country. Not that it’s just kites.
Sandy Pfaff, Executive Director of the Lincoln City Visitor and Convention Bureau, calls the festival as much ballet as kite flying. Being an aerial event, however, that ballet is high above the floor. When performer Debbie Park of California climbs 30 feet above the gym floor, wraps herself in curtain-like ropes and performs, it’s more like Cirque du Soleil than woeful Charlie Brown.
Choreographed to music and the motions of numerous kite fliers, Park’s acrobatics are one of the highlights of the aerial show. Indeed, hundreds of people attended last year’s three-day event, most of them unaware of what they were about to see. They just knew that when they left they were amazed fans of indoor kite flying.
”
I had no idea they could do that with kites,” said one attendee
from Hillsboro. “”What I got to see was amazing.”
OK, so there are some fans.
Free windless flying space in the commons is available to practice what the experts taught you. And they’ll teach you for free at the times indicated in the schedule. You just need to get out on that floor and try.
Activities
for the kids including flying lessons and playing with balsa wood gliders
(available for a fee).
March 30 to April 1. Admission: $2 per person, $5 per family, including all kids 15 and under. For more information on the 2007 Indoor Kite Festival in Lincoln City, contact the Lincoln City Visitor and Convention Bureau at 1-800-452-2151 or www.oregoncoast.org.
Schedule of Events
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Friday, March 30:
4 - 7:30 p.m. - Practice/Free
Flying/Teaching, at Both Gyms
7:30 - 9 p.m. - Indoor Kite
Flying Performances, at Main Gym
Inn At Spanish Head, Lincoln City. Lincoln City’s only resort hotel built right on the beach with all oceanfront rooms - nestled against a rugged cliffside overlooking a soft, sandy beach. Dine in the penthouse restaurant and bar - for a casual meal or a candlelight dinner. An array of seafood specialties, juicy steaks and other Northwest favorites, including a decadent Sunday buffet. Rooms range from bedrooms to studios to one-bedroom suites with microwaves and refrigerators to full kitchens. Hotel include wi-fi, spa, saunas, exercise room and a year-round heated swimming pool. Kids will love the game room and easy beach access. Full-service conference/meeting rooms for that inspirational retreat; extensive, gorgeous wedding possibilities. 4009 SW Highway 101, Lincoln City. 1-800-452-8127 or 541-996-2161. www.spanishhead.com |
Saturday, March 31:
9 – 10:30 a.m. - Indoor
Kite Flying Demonstrations - Main Gym
10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. - Practice/Free
Flying/Teaching - Both Gyms
12 - 1:30 p.m. - Indoor Kite
Flying Performances - Main Gym
1:30 - 2 p.m. - Set up for
competition - Main Gym
2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - AKA
Indoor Kite Flying Competition - Main Gym
(Trophies will be awarded for top 3 in each division.)
3:30 p.m. - 4 p.m. - Practice/Free
flying/Teaching - Both Gyms
4 p.m. - 5 p.m. - Indoor
Kite Flying Demonstrations - Main Gym
5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Practice/Free
Flying/Teaching - Both Gyms
6:30 - 8 p.m. - Indoor Kite
Flying Performances - Main Gym
Sunday, April 1:
9-10 a.m. - Practice/Free
Flying/Teaching - Both Gyms
10 - 11:30 a.m. - Indoor Kite Flying Demonstrations - Main Gym
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
- Practice/Free Flying/Teaching - Both Gyms
12:45 p.m. - Raffle
Drawing - Main Gym
1 p.m. - 2 p.m. - Indoor
Kite Flying Performances - Main Gym
D Sands Condominium Motel, Lincoln City. Free, fresh baked cookie upon check-in is just the start. All rooms beachfront and up against Lincoln City's most famous stretch of beach: the D River. Each room comes as a suite or mini-suite, and has a kitchen and balcony or patio. Some w/ gas fireplaces, while all have a DVD Players; movies to rent come with free popcorn. Heated indoor pool, a spa, and this fabulous beach is lit at night. Rooms sleep from two, four to six - including a deluxe fireplace suite. Gift certificates orspecial occasion packages. www.dsandsmotel.com. 171 S.W. Highway 101. 800-527-3925. |
Weiss' Paradise Suites & Vacation Rentals - Seaside
Unique Luxury Accommodations in Seaside. 1BR Suites,
1BR & 2BR Duplex Units and 3BR Houses, units for 2-8 people.
Rent entire property for 20-26. Close to beach, river and Broadway
St. |
Tradewinds Motel, Rockaway Beach. All rooms are immaculate and have TV’s, VCR’s and in-room phones with data ports. Oceanfronts all have a queen bed, a double hide-a-bed, kitchen, cozy firelog fireplace and a private deck. Both types sleep up to four people. Others are appointed for a two-person romantic getaway, yet still perfect for those on a budget. Elaborate oceanfront Jacuzzi suite has two bedrooms, kitchen, double hide-a-bed, fireplace and private deck, sleeping as many as six. For family reunions or large gatherings such as weddings, some rooms can connect to create two-room and three-room suites. Some rooms are pet friendly.523 N. Pacific St., Rockaway Beach. (503) 355-2112 - 1-800-824-0938. www.tradewinds-motel.com |
BREATHTAKING
CLIFFTOP IN NEWPORT STARFISH
POINT is located on the Central Oregon Coast - in Newport
- and offers only the finest in luxury condominium lodging. At Starfish
Point, every unit is focused on the beauty of the sea and the beach. |
Arch
Cape Property Services.
Dozens of homes in that dreamy,
rugged stretch between Cannon Beach and Manzanita known as Arch
Cape. Oceanfront and ocean view , or just a short walk from the
sea. |
DIVE
INTO LUXURY, HISTORY AT THE TIDES THE TIDES BY THE SEA, Seaside. For over 80 years a favorite of Seaside visitors. 51 oceanfront condos, individually owned and decorated. Suites for couples, small apartments with fireplaces and kitchenettes, one or two bed family units with fireplaces, kitchens and dining rooms. Oceanview cottages sleep anywhere from two to eight, w/ two bedrooms, some with lofts, fireplaces and kitchens. Heated outdoor pool, enormous grounds w/ picnic tables - all at quiet southern end of Seaside. 2316 Beach Drive. 800-548-2846. www.thetidesbythesea.com. |
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