Kites will fly, swoop over Algoma beach on Lake Michigan for Soar on the Shore festival
ALGOMA - Kites will paint the sky over Crescent Beach once again when the eighth annual Soar on the Shore Kite and Beach Festival takes place Aug. 20.
As at other kite festivals, the highlight of the free, family-friendly event probably is stunt flying exhibitions, often synchronized to music like an aerial dance routine along the Lake Michigan shore. The routines will be performed by members of Fire and Ice, a professional kite team out of Chicago that performed at last year's festival, and other kite experts.
The Wisconsin Kiters Club also will have giant display kites on hand and conduct a kite candy drop for children. Its members will be available to answer questions about kiting and give tips to those interested in learning about kiting.
Along with the stunt shows, kites of all shapes and sizes, with designs from artistic to cartoon characters, will be aloft throughout the event as experts give demonstrations. There will be a space for visitors to fly their own kites or perhaps test-fly one.
The festival offers two new activities this year. One, sponsored by countywide arts organization ArtBeet Kewaunee, allows attendees to create their own bandana with dyes made from beets grown in the Algoma Community Garden. People can draw their own design on the fabric with wax, then submerge it in the dye. All materials are provided while supplies last.
The other new event is a beach-inspired scavenger hunt geared toward those ages 6 to 14 sponsored by Friends of Crescent Beach, the community support organization formed in 2015 to rehabilitate and maintain the beach and draw people to it. Participants can stop by the Friends' tent to pick up their tasks for the hunt, which will include questions ranging from counting to drawing and searching out unique features of the beach. Those who turn in a completed form will win a small prize and be entered for a chance to win a kite.
Other children's activities include crafts, street games, twisted balloon creations, face painting and playing in the sand with toys. There will be easels available for aspiring plein air artists who want to re-create the scenery in front of them.
Visitors also can design and create a kite sun catcher with CTI Hospitality, a national millwork and casework company in Algoma, and try out a kayak with demonstrations by local outdoor recreation store Bay Shore Outfitters.
Concessions will be available, including smoked pulled pork sandwiches with a choice of sauces, homemade mac and cheese and Oreo balls from Smokin’ Tom’s Team Barbeque of Sturgeon Bay. Also, Ernest Haucke American Legion Post 236 will serve hot dogs, chili dogs and chips; the Destination Imagination team from the Algoma School District will have boiled sweet corn; and the Sweet Escapes Ice Cream Truck will be on hand for dessert or a sweet snack.
Sponsored by Friends of Crescent Beach and the Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce, Soar on the Shore takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 20, on and along Crescent Beach in Algoma. There is no charge to attend, but proceeds and donations go to the Friends for their mission to protect and promote the beach. All activities, especially kite flying, depend on the weather dependent; if the festival is postponed, rain date is Aug. 21.
For more information, call the Algoma Chamber at 920-487-2041 or visit friendsofcrescentbeach.org/soar or the "Friends of Crescent Beach in Algoma" Facebook page.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-741-7952, 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Kites will take to the skies over Algoma beach for Soar on the Shore
