All kinds of one-of-a-kind kites in Port Clinton

PORT CLINTON

Port Clinton residents traveling past Water Works Park on Saturday saw a pleasant surprise.

Decorating the sky were dozens of colorful kites and some truly unique creations.

Master kite builder Dan Klos and his wife, Port Clinton native Kay Zekany, hosted a kite workshop sponsored by the Greater Port Clinton Art Council.

Children and area residents were each supplied with a simple kite to decorate and build, compliments of the arts council.

Green, pink, blue and yellow kites dotted the sky, but the stars were the kites created by Klos, a retired design engineer who specializes in airflow.

"That's the silliest kite I've ever seen," Klos declared about one of his own creations. The kite can only be described as a pair of legs chasing a floating soccer ball.

Klos also delighted the crowd with his arrow-like twin kites, named Fred and Ginger, which darted and looped circles in the perfectly mild mid-afternoon breeze. The event was originally scheduled for last weekend, but was canceled because of poor weather.

There were no complaints about the weather Saturday as kite-fliers tugged their kites against a backdrop of blue sky. Frank Sinatra crooned "Come Fly With Me" over a set of speakers.

"It's a good day for those sled kites," Klos said, watching children in the park towing their wind-filled kites. "Some kites, like the lizard man, he likes more wind."

The lizard man, a tall green kite with purple wings, was propped up just north of the Derby Pond parking lot. He wore bright yellow sunglasses and a wide, wicked grin, reminiscent of the Joker.

Klos said his love of kites lies more with creating them than flying them.

"I enjoy the process of building, so I don't ever keep track of how long it takes," he said.

Though he's made dozens of kites, he still has plenty of ideas for more zipping around in his head. He envisions a kaleidoscope kite that changes colors in the wind.

Nine-year-old Claudia Rosiar, Port Clinton, decorated her kite with her name, a smiley face and two hearts.

"We just needed something to do today," she said. "I've never flown a kite before."

A short distance away, 90-year-old Vivian Vickery, Sandusky, said she's enjoyed flying kites for years. She tugged at a pink kite that lay stubbornly on the ground. Suddenly it was swept up in the wind.

"Come on, come on, get up there," she coaxed it.

Vickery said she won a contest at Put-in-Bay some 30 years ago with her granddaughter for building the smallest kite. The pair made it using toothpicks.

Carol Morgan, an arts council member and friend of Klos and Zekany, said she was happy with the turnout and hopes to have the event again next year with more kites and contests.