Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

This year’s Martha’s Vineyard Wind Festival was full of surprises. The morning was full of promise The weather was reported to be dry and breezy along the coast. The tent was set up for kite building. Kids arrived to build kites and although it was really breezy, our volunteers had a good time working along with the kids to get the kites aloft. All kids received prizes and played happily most of the day. Adults arrived to compete about 1:30 and the breeze started turning into gusty winds. Kite enthusiasts were working hard to get the kites up into the air. There were some veteran kite fliers and they had amazing kites. One kite flyer had a very large kite that looked a pair of dancing legs that shuffled across the sky to the music of the Flying Elbows who serenaded the folks on the ground. The Zablotnys had the most organic kites they created with leaves and filament that flew and spun like one of the beautiful collages Peggy Zablotny creates.

The winner again this year was Salty, whose Jamaican roots gave him a deep understanding of kite building and flying. His kites are beautifully made and stayed in the sky throughout the gale and mist that moved in around 3 p.m. People watched the gusts of wind snap the lines and free the rainbow kite along with the black shark. We watched them in tandem disappear over the trees and rooftops and we realized it was time to close this year’s festival. We will aim for an earlier date next year. There will always be people who want to fly, so we will start planning next year’s event just after the holidays.

Thanks again to the Vineyard Gazette, Oak Bluffs Association, the Martha’s Vineyard Center for the Visual Arts and all the families and friends who helped with this community art project. Thanks also to Traeger diPietro and Chip and Pam Coblyn who created the fabulous collectible poster.

Holly Alaimo
West Tisbury