Folks want to be involved, not to sit back and watch.

Static entertainment is becoming a thing of the past. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Don't stop at press releases! A savvy event promoter could take the time to make a videotape with short segments of the high points of a fest kids flying kites, a Masters team, mass ascensions. Work harder at publicity! The time and effort spent on getting word of your festival out to the public is time well spent. While it may take a long time to evolve most kite festivals to the point that they are a great way for the whole family to spend an entire day, there are some things that festival promoters can do immediately to better attract, and then entertain the general public. I was surprised at the number of sportkite competitors who reacted favorably to the idea of slimming the number of disciplines, leaving more time for fun, and activities geared toward involving the public. We got great response to last issue's column, where I called for staging kite festivals that are more appealing to the public. I thank you for your efforts on our behalf. The people who made this happen are too numerous to mention, but you know who you are. A year's preparation resulted in another great event, ah yes.

What makes a great event like the AKA Nationals possible? Hundreds of hours of work by true professionals - work done behind the scenes with very little recognition, with the main reward being the tired, yet satisfied feeling that they all had on Sunday night. It was a week where there were truly not enough hours in a day to experience all that our sport has to offer, though I damned near killed myself trying to cram those hours as fully as possible! The recent AKA event convinced me further of the truth of one of my core beliefs - that I am indeed fortunate to participate in a hobby with such a talented and diverse group of participants.

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