Dozens of beautiful and colourful kites will fill the skies over Swift Current this June as SaskPower’s 15th annual Windscape Kite Festival returns to the community.
Taking place Saturday, June 22 and Sunday, June 23, ftom 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, Windscape is a free family festival that offers an exciting weekend of special entertainment. It features 40 celebrity kite flyers from across the world, including Canada, the United States, Italy, Colombia and the Philippines.
There are many activities for families to enjoy during the two-day festival, according to a news release. This includes face painting, kite building, a bale maze, and a splatter wall. There are also food vendors and washrooms, which should make it easier for families to spend an entire day at the field.
This world-class event attracts kite flyers, enthusiasts and fun-loving people from across the globe to one prairie field, the news release said. Thousands of visitors from Canada and the northern United States will come to the Windscape field to make and fly their own kites, watch celebrity kite flyers, and enjoy entertainment throughout the weekend.
Don and Alice Guick have been coming to the Windscape Kite Festival as celebrity kite flyers since the event began in 2004.
“(Organizers) Shan, Ray, and Dave were trying to put up a tent, so we volunteered to help them. The wind came up and it started raining. We got soaked but we had a good time and have been coming back ever since,” Mr. Guick said in the news release.
Each year they are pleased to see the Windscape Festival getting bigger and better.
“The Town of Swift Current, the merchants and the people are so great in sponsoring and supporting the festival,” he added. “It’s one of the best volunteering towns; the volunteers here are so committed. We’re really happy to be invited back every year to do what we can to put smiles on people’s faces.”
But what keeps the Guicks coming back is the people. They love flying kites because it’s something anyone can do. A 12-year-old taught Don how to fly kites, and in return, he and Alice have volunteered their time in schools teaching children how to build and fly kites.
The Guicks build their own kites and have made more than 60 kites. Today, they still own about 35. Although Don is the one who designs and flies them, Alice assists behind the scenes, feeding material over Don’s shoulder, or helping with other tasks.
For more information, visit www.windscapekitefestival.ca.
