If someone came up to you and told you to “go fly a Kite” you might wonder if it was in jest or were they telling you to get lost. Or perhaps they just meant for you to ask them why? At any rate in Yachats you’re going to be hearing “Go Fly A Kite” quite a bit for the next several weeks. No they haven’t totally lost it in Yachats although some folks swear that many Yachatians have lost it and are still waiting for the next La De Da Parade to roll through town!
Seriously though, many years ago Yachats had a Kite Festival every year and the skies would be filled with colorful kites swooping, diving and soaring over the river and ocean. The beach at the mouth of the Yachats river is a perfect spot for kite flying, smooth, long and flat it’s a natural kite launching pad.
Well, thanks to Wyatt Flechner and Gretchen Hetzler Yachats once again is going to have a Kite Festival. It’s going to be held on Sept 3rd and is more than just a Kite Festival. Wyatt and Gretchen are currently holding a fun raising drive to defray the cost of the festival and bringing special guest Connor Doran. Here is what they have to say about the Festival.
“Connor Doran is a young man with a kite. He also has had epilepsy since he was four years old. Flying kites has given him control over his life and incredible self-confidence. In 2010, he won the wild card slot in an audition for America’s Got Talent. On the stage, indoors, relying on the movement of the kite to provide the lift, Connor led his kite in swoops and leaps, as if they were dancing together. The judges voted unanimously to send him to the finals in Las Vegas.
(You can see Connor’s performance on YouTube– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjjMHaQyk9k&feature;=youtu.be )
Connor and his enthusiastically supportive mother, Amy, will attend Sky Candy, the Yachats kite festival to be held on Saturday, September 3. The event, sponsored by Wyatt Feichtner, proprietor of the Yachats Mercantile, is free and open to everyone. This family fun event renews an old tradition of Yachats kite festivals, with kite displays, contests and instruction on how to fly a kite.
For more information about Sky Candy, visit www.GoYachats.com/Events . The organizers are seeking donations to help Connor with his fund raising for college.
If you would like to help bring this inspiring young man and his kites to Yachats, please send your donations to the Yachats Mercantile, P.O. Box 394, Yachats OR 97498. At press time they have approximately $600 towards the goal of at least $1000 and just decided to put up some portable toilets at the beach in the day of the event so that adds an additional $130 to the cost.You can also contribute via PayPal; the account is yachatskitefest@gmail.com . Look for donation jars around Yachats. If you want more information about Connor and the kite festival, call Wyatt at 541 547 3060.
And be sure to attend Sky Candy for lots of fun activities, including Connor’s mesmerizing kite flying performance. Go fly a kite!” So if you hear someone in Yachats tell you to go fly a kite, you will know what they mean by that!
Visit Yachats and enjoy Sky Candy along with the rest of us!
To reach Rick Schultze email: yarick@pioneer.net