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Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

2010 Smithsonian Kite Festival»»

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

The Smithsonian Kite Festival is this Saturday, 27 March. It runs from 10 AM to 4 PM The kite-making show & competition starts at 10:15; I expect to see some interesting designs and engineering from Harold Ames and Mike Mosman, among others. Our favorite rokkaku combat is scheduled for 3 PM, but remember that they held it early, at 2 PM, last year.

Please come out and cheer for the Squadron in the Rokkaku Challenge. I think we’ll give you a lot to cheer for — we usually put on an energetic and noisy show, and we’ve been winning a lot. To brag a little, last year, our various teams won at Smithsonian and Wildwood and took second in the AKA Nationals, and I won the individual combat in the Nationals. So I can promise that your enthusiasm will be well placed and rewarded with action.

I’ll continue posting info and follow-ups here, so check back in. You can also find more details about the festival’s schedule, children’s events, and rules at the Smithsonian Kite Festival website.

Read ongoing festival news at our twitter feed, MidnightSquad, which is also shown on the right side of our home page.

2/21 Kite Fly and 2/27 Smithsonian!»»

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Interested in flying 2/21? I’m planning on flying Sunday the 21st (1pm) at the Capitol College Field.

A week and a half from now, Saturday the 27th, is Smithsonian! Join us for a good time, a good crowd, great events, and maybe another Rokkaku win!

2009 AKA National Convention Notes»»

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

A week after the 2009 AKA National Convention in Rochester, MN, Complex is finally posting some of the notes about the convention and things he learned. Some of this is even making its way to the Kite Tips section. (more…)

Midnight Squadron Wins Wildwood Team Rokkaku»»

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

Complex reports via the Midnight Squadron Twitter feed:

rok battle-lost heat 1 but won rest.Wwoods champs!

Congrats to the Midnight Squadron team for winning team rokkaku at the Wildwood International Kite Festival!  I’m sure Complex will give us the tip-by-tip when he gets online next.

Wildwood Kite Festival This Weekend!»»

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

The Wildwood Kite Festival is upon us, and with little time to prepare, at least 2 Squadroneers are headed over to participate.

Please follow at midnightsquad’s Twitter feed to see what happens

Kite Aerial Photography at MIKE»»

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) on Saturday did not work out. All conditions were absolutely perfect for great shots of the festival kites — but the shutter did not press properly, so no pictures.

I tried again Sunday morning and got some great pictures. Unfortunately there were no other kites out so early, but I got some great sunrise and strolling-on-the-boardwalk shots.

I’ve posted 15 of the best at

http://tinyurl.com/cggvhf

Thanks Joanne and Cindy for allowing me to hang a camera over their heads!

The Squadron at MIKE»»

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

For news from the flying fields of MIKE, check out our Twitter Feed at:

http://twitter.com/midnightsquad
or for the more specific MIKE-only tweets

We should have an individual rokkaku contest tomorrow!.

Fullish-ish Moon Kite Fly»»

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

We’re a little late but we’re gonna fly kites this Saturday night!

Meet us at Capitol College at 9 PM to fly on the old racetrack field.

As usual, be quiet & polite b/c they’re letting us fly there, and we don’t want to disturb the students housed nearby.

We’ve got an earlier event, too — a Rokkaku duel demo with the Bam’s Kung Fu of Laurel!

Rok Goes Bam! (Noon at Bam’s Kung Fu)»»

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

Chrooke and Complex will be demo’ing Low Down Dirty Kite Fighting this Saturday at noon for the Bam’s Kung Fu of Laurel, MD. Note the update: time and place is noon Saturday 4/18 at the Bam’s (8750 Cherry Lane #C15 Laurel, MD 20707)

Obviously, if you’re interested in Kung Fu, this is probably a good chance for you to talk to the Bams about that, too. I’ve found they’re very approachable. I’m interested in what a champion sport karate & kung fu master has to say about our dueling (besides “train regularly, already!”).

That’s two events this Saturday — there’s a Fullish Moon Kite Fly on Saturday night.

Smithsonian Rokkaku Win»»

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

Just a quick note — the Midnight Squadron team won a very tough Smithsonian Rokkaku Challenge!

The field was great, tough, and fierce. The weather was friendly to us — the ugly dampness soaked our line, protecting us from Harold Ames & Charlie Don’t Run’s skilled slicings, and the light wind was familiar from our usual low-wind Low-Down Dirty Kite Fights.

Iron Kite spooled and Complex piloted, while Kalika Chris coached. We lapped the field 3 times, and finished last in the air in the first and third heats.

More later!