Well, last year's running of this event was so much fun, it only makes sense that it became an annual event, so coming up the first weekend in May, the 2nd annual Northwest Sport Kite Competition will take place. It's being held at the same location as last year, Delta Park, which is just off of I5 on the north end of Portland, right beside the Portland International Raceway.

The event itself will be specifically focused on sport kites and will feature a full range of competition events, from Novice dual line to Masters events in both dual and quad line. There’s also pairs and team competitions as well. While this will be the first outdoor event of 2008, we’re midway through the season with respect to the NWSKL so expect to see the best of the Northwest flyers in attendance to gain as many points as they can.

Theresa Norelius of The Kite Shoppe is the main sponsor and contact person for this festival so if you need any information, just give her a call, she’d be pleased to fill you in. Last summer, she also moved to a new Shoppe so Friday night, you can pop into the new location (which is essentially right next door to the old one) and have some snacks and meet some of the other people who will be out on the field Saturday morning. Also, Kitelife itself is a sponsor of this event, so you can expect a picture laden review on the whole affair in the next issue of this magazine.

There will be some featured performances and demos by a variety of people, including recently relocated Lam Hoac from Canada, performing both indoors and outdoors on quad and dual line kites. Carl Bragiel is also bringing his renowned “One Man Kite Team” to Delta Park, flying three Shivas at once! Theresa is also hoping to have some fighter kite demos taking place in a one of the fields and with a little luck, We’ll coax Mark Reed from Prism Kites down as well! So many things you simply won’t want to miss, so head out early and stay for both days.

Portland weather at this time of the year is typically beautiful. The summer’s heat hasn’t quite set in, yet the coolness of winter is behind us, so, we’re hoping for a really pleasant weekend. Also, there’s a good number of restaurants close by, should you get hungrier than the concession stands can accommodate. Excellent accommodations have been found close by, you just need to call The Days Inn at 503-289-1800 and mention The Kite Show or talk to Mark Greene (General Manager) to receive a special discount on your stay.

And the address for the Days Inn is :

Days Inn Portland North
9930 North Whitaker Rd.
Portland, OR 97217
(I-5 Exit 306B & Whitaker Rd.)

I have no doubt that the 2nd annual running of this competition/festival will be just as much fun as it was last year, so make plans to come to the NWSKL's 1st outdoor of the spring and find out for yourself! If you have any questions beforehand, feel free to give Theresa a call at The Kite Shoppe or drop her an email, she'll have all the details and maybe there was a kite you wanted to start the season with as well?

Hope to see you there!