South Padre Island Kite Festival '09

The "smart" people are not feeling any of the winter cold that the rest of the north is suffering from. They are on South Padre Island enjoying the sun, sand and beauty this place has to offer.

The kites were a feast for the eye.

There were gorgeous geometrical patterns.

Of course anything shark is cool.

The usually balmy tropical weather down here made it perfect and it was perfectly windy, too.

Anybody can fly a kite, well, not Charlie Brown, but most everybody can.

Who do you think of when you see this?

???

John Haga, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, had one of the nicest kites out there.

His buddy was helping his kite reach "the highest height."




















I get high with a little help from my friends.

I get by with a little help from my friends.

but the real party had gathered to watch the impressive shows















like this team of professional kite flyers who were doing fancy moves and stunts with their kites. Their kites flew in formation, followed each other into loops and danced around in the bright blue sky.

They performed their act to beautiful music that was piped out to the huge crowd of onlookers.

Kite enthusiasts were willing to share their knowledge with whomever asked.

This spinning kite was about 40 feet in diameter and could be seen from very far away.

This huge bouncing spinning wheel of color drew me like a moth is drawn to light.

People even brought their houses to the show and watched in the comfort of their own home.