Local news
Volunteers help kids get their kites into Enid's skies
“I see only smiles today,” Don Jacks said Thursday as he helped his children get their kites ready for the attempt to break the Guinness World Record of number of kites flown simultaneously.
Jacks was just one of hundreds of parents or grandparents helping kids string their kite for the official Kites Over Enid event in a large field behind Autry Technology Center.
“And, it didn’t take the U.N. to organize this,” he said with a smirk, in reference to the official world record just announced from a kite flying event in Gaza that sanctioned more than 3,000 kites flown as the record.
“If you build it, they will come,” Jacks said as he looked over the large field as hundreds of students and adults started to fill the grids and launch their kites. And, he should know. He was one of the 20 or so volunteers tapped by Habitat for Humanity board member Stanley Hicks to help organize the large event in a short time period.
Jacks was right about the smiles. Eldon Ames had a smile on his face as he sat in his chair and watched the kites and flew his own.
“I think this is a wonderful event for northwest Oklahoma,” he said.
Sitting next to him, Pat Wayman complimented the organization it took to conduct the large-scale event.
The school students stringing their kites and launching them into the air didn’t really care how well the event was organized. They were just glad to be outside in 78-degree weather and out of school.
“It’s awesome,” said Jacob Slayter, a student at Cimarron. “I get to fly a kite and get out of school.” He was one of Shonda Stakes’ 11 students participating in the event.
“This is great,” she said. “I didn’t know when I became a teacher I would get to fly kites.”
Kite fliers struggled a little as the wind seemed to die down, then pick up again. But, about 15 minutes before the official 1 p.m. launch, hundreds of kites already were in the air and fliers were getting themselves set for the record attempt. A few kites tangled together, but stayed in the air, and that means they were counted.
The official time of the kites in the air lasted a few minutes before the announcement came all kites had been counted by the spotters located at all the grids. Still, people didn’t want to stop flying their kites, and even as most of the school buses were pulling away, adults and children still were in the fields flying their kites.
The official Kites Over Enid kites were complemented by some large kite displays brought by a regional kite club.
Ruth Dobbs, a volunteer who helped register people for the kite event, said she was glad to be a part of it.
“I don’t know how long its been since I’ve flown a kite.”
Gerry Allen, president of Enid Habitat for Humanity, which is benefitting from the fundraising aspects of the kite-flying event, said he was pleased at how the event turned out.
“I saw a variety of happy faces, people young and old, flying kites,” he said. “I just thank all the people who put in so many hours of work to make Kites Over Enid happen.”
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