Odds & Ends
The joy of kite flying transcends barriers of language, of culture and of age. It is nearly universal in nature. In most every country in the world you can find people laughing as they send kites high into the sky to dance on the breeze. Kites are the ultimate family...
That Was Different
That Was Different. This past spring the 36th International Kite Festival was held on the International Kite Flying Field in Weifang City, Shandong Province, China. Launched in 1984, the festival has become one of the oldest, largest and most popular festivals in...
Igniting A Passion
Willy Copens was a Belgian soldier fighting in WWI. On Thursday, April 15, 1915, watched a German Zeppelin pass overhead on its return from a bombing mission in England and he was flooded with memories. On the same beach, when he was five years old, running among the...
Coming To A Town Near You
Coming To A Town, kite stores such as Tumbleweeds & Tarantulas are opening in towns large and small as the popularity of kites is on an upswing. Still, pardon the pun, to a large degree the sport of kiting flies under the radar even though there are some major...
A Forgotten Chapter
Oddly enough, from their inception innovative military strategists have found use for kites. In fact there is historic evidence that kites originated in China as a tool of war. Made of light wood and cloth and designed to imitate the natural flight of birds, these...
The International Love of Kites
Aside from Route 66, there are few things other than kites that I can think of which transcend barriers of language and culture. According to legend, Benjamin Franklin made his most shocking discovery while flying a kite. Since the fifth century B.C. in China, kites...
Battle For The Skies
Afghanistan is an ancient county. War and battles have been a way of life for decades and centuries, and now village is spared from the fierce fighting. In Kabul, the battle for dominance of the skies predates the historic flight of Oliver and Wilbur Wright, and even...
Cheaper Than Therapy
It is doubtful if your health insurance provider or HMO will buy you a kite from Tumbleweeds & Tarantulas. Still there is a therapeutic benefit to kite flying. Kite flying can also enhance your time spent with family, help you drop a pound or two, and, perhaps,...
It’s Kite Season
It's kite season! Well, every season is actually kite season but summer is ideally suited to this pursuit of idyllic childhood reminiscing. And summer is always the season for an array of kite festivals. Scheduled for June 22 -23 the annual Summer Kite Festival is a...
The High Flying History of Kites
The High Flying History of Kites The first hot air air balloon amazed crowds when it debuted in 1783. In 1903 the first mechanically powered aircraft took flight. These manifestations of mans quest to dance on the winds with the freedom of a bird are recent history...
