KTAI Daily Updates

[John Barresi]

I am pleased to let you all know that I'll be doing daily updates from the KTAI trade show in Nevada during the week of January 9-16... Most likely we'll be uploading reports on the evenings of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Be sure to stop by and check out the latest products, before anyone else does!

URL will be posted, and I'll have a link on the home page.

[The Kite Shoppe]

John,

Thank you for the great job you did in sharing the experience we had at the Trade Show (and our little side adventures too!) You left out The Fremont Experience Saturday night!

There was so much to see and do. Scott and I visited with about a 3rd of the booth vendors, if that, and I know you made attempts to get to all the kite manufacturers represented. Retailers weren't allowed on the Trade floor till Wednesday afternoon, and Thursday morning's demo fly was severely limited due to low wind. Two that we'd hoped to see in the parking lot were Prism and HQ....either I missed seeing them out there with us....or.....

That left Thursday afternoon, and Friday morning, to make the rounds, before booth tear down at 1pm. All in all, you scrambled trying to get time with as many as you could! Good job!

I came away a bit disillusioned. But that's OK. It's good to see all sides, listen and hear what others are doing, and what works for them. We don't sell toys, we sell kites. This works for us, but then again, we're not in a high traffic tourist beach location, our customers come to us...for kites. We love kites, as you well know, and share our passion on the field, in the parks, at the beach....and in our Shoppe. We plan to continue to focus, promote, expand, contribute, in any small way that we can, to kiting.

We support AKA, KTAI and Kitelife as they reach out and touch the kiting community. The flyers are the core of our industry! Without them, there would be no need for kite stores. To that end, it is only sensible, to succeed in the retail business we are in, to support, encourage and promote more kiting around our communities. Go out and fly! Join us for Fun Flys! Share a kite with someone watching! Share the joy! The fun! The thrill! Young or old....doesn't matter.

Yeah...Got Milk?

It may be our inside joke, but.....Got Kites?

Thanks again John! See you on the field Sunday....Flying! All are welcome! Come on out and play!

Theresa

[Red Doug]

I read the updates from LV, and I guess I picked up on the difference in philosophy on how to promote a shop and kiting. I have to say you're on the right track--it's about flying kites. The more people see you flying kites, and get a chance to fly them for the first time, the more people pick up the sport, and the more people associate that with your shop in the Portland/Vancouver area.

My only addition would be the more public the better--how about Waterfront Park sometime. I know I read something (most likely in Al Hargus' Kiting History) about people on Chicago going down to the Lakeshore--they got hooked into an overwhelming response, and there's both good and bad sides to that. I haven't been to Delta Park, so I don't know what kind of crowds are there.

For my self, I know that from now on, when I go down to the beach or some other public place, I'll be setting up the Alpha and the Beetle just for passersby to fly. Last time out a couple stopped by and were interested, and I kicked myself later for not offering to have them fly my $180 kites. Selfish pig. (I dont have any $250-350 kites yet myself)

Anyway. looks like I'm writing a book again, so that's it.

[John Barresi]

Right on with your outlook Doug... Delta Park is about 800 feet from Interstate 5, between Jantzen Beach and Portland... On an average day, the amount of traffic passing back and forth is incredible.

If we can get a regular combo of sport kite fliers and single line displays in the sky, the spill off from the highway will be very significant.

I'm in the process now of securing a few Beetles to keep in my bag for giveaways, whenever someone stops to watch and has even the slightest glow in their eye.

We are looking at the eve of an evolution in kiting... A chance to change the way that we approach it, and it can only be done from the grassroots level in order to set a new standard for the industry and organizations that have long suffered from stagnancy.

You and I, metaphorically, are the only ones that can effect this.