Editors Note : Reporting in for the first time is Mary Hoffman, who is always seen in the company of Dave "Mr. Incredible" Bush. One of the things that really touched me about this story was that it clearly shows that you don't necessarily need a lot of money and backing to run a kite competition, just some good help and a positive attitude. It's also really nice to get some coverage from the Midwest kite events too! And yes, Dave DOES look (and fly) like Mr.Incredible!

Our first kite festival of the season, Michigan Kitefest (formerly John and Elaine Cosby’s awesome event) was ready to go.  We had been planning for months, so many things to do. Had we forgotten anything? Too late, time was up!  With help from Richland Township Park in Richland, MI we have been able to continue to put on a great kite flying event each year on the second weekend of June. The park is wonderful, with an extremely large open, flat, well-manicured field, great facilities and a concession stand for hungry fliers. This year was perfect. We had wind! I mean really great wind. As kite fliers you know what I mean.  Midwest fliers learn very early on how to fly in low-wind or even no-wind conditions.  We have had times where we’ve had to fly indoor kites outdoors! Imagine that? But not this year, this years event winds were variable but hey, wind is wind.  We had big kites floating in the air; Chicago Fire on the field, fighter kites fighting, awesome pairs and great individual fliers and the best support team ever.  We also received two new AKA members into the family. Like I said – it was perfect. 

After the events on Saturday were complete we hosted a dinner at the Blackhawk Bar and Grill in Richland.  All of the fliers had a nice buffet meal of barbeque chicken, corn and potato salad, cool drinks and played a round or two of horseshoes.  We finished up the competition on Sunday. Packed everything up and got our hugs goodbye.
Then it was done.

But not over…

Two weeks later, we did it again!

On the last weekend of June we started the 1st annual Warren Dunes Kitefest. This event came about completely by accident.  We received an email from a Michigan Dept of Natural Resources officer asking what it would take to set up an event at the beach where he worked. Dave and I read the email, looked at each other and said, “What the heck? Let’s do it!”  We went “bare bones” for this competition – no dinner, no fancy awards, just compete for points for nationals and have a great time.

What did we do with the walkie-talkies? Where did you put the frog? Are you sure we packed everything? 

This time we were off to Warren Dunes State Park in Sawyer, MI. The car, (yes, I said car) was packed with everything we needed for the kite competition. Somehow Dave and I managed to squeeze two tables, a 10x20 canopy, a bag full of kites, a banner, two windsocks, a hanging frog, two folding chairs, a box  full of score sheets and other needed paperwork, a cooler, a tarp and ourselves into our Chevy Cobalt. How? It boggles the mind. 
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources people set-up the flying field for us, it was huge and right on the beach of Lake Michigan.  This kite competition may have started by accident but with everyone’s help and support we were able to create this event with very little planning or money. We had blue sky, white sand and a rainbow of beautiful fighter, single-line, dual-line and quad-line kites in the air. Everyone met for pizza at a little restaurant down the road from the park on Sunday afternoon to relax and announce the winners. Our Kitefest went off without a hitch. We even added another new AKA member to the bunch! With help from everyone, we managed to put another festival on the map.

Dave Bush really is Mr. Incredible to pull off - not one - but two kitefests – only two weeks apart and make them spectacular. Who is that masked man?
Dave was awarded the nickname of “Mr. Incredible” because he flies a Level One Thors Hammer at events in our region. The Thor is a dual line sport kite of the giant variety. It measures approximately 13’6” across. His nickname was also given to him because with his blonde hair, big chin and funny sunglasses… well geez, lets face it,  he resembles Mr. Incredible.

In the end, we didn’t do that much to get the festivals going.  They happened because the fliers and those who love fliers, made them happen. What did we ever do to deserve such wonderful friends? Thank you to everyone who watched kites, flew kites or wanted to

    To good friends and good winds,

      Mary Hoffman