Posts Tagged ‘Smithsonian’

8 results.
Mar28

Smithsonian –> Blossom Kite Festival

on March 28, 2011 at 2:53 pm

Just a note for anyone searching for info on Washington, DC’s Smithsonian after 2010: as of 2011, this became the Blossom Kite Festival, part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

See more under the “BlossomKiteFestival” tag.

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Mar25

2010 Smithsonian Kite Festival

on March 25, 2010 at 12:00 pm

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.

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Mar28

Smithsonian Rokkaku Win

on March 28, 2009 at 10:46 pm

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!

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Mar28

Smithsonian Kite Festival –>Blossom Kite Festival, 3/27

on March 28, 2009 at 8:57 am

The Washington Monument flanked by two kites in an archThe Smithsonian Kite Festival will be held on Sunday, March 27 — only now it’s the Blossom Kite Festival!

Our favorite kite festival is now run by the National Cherry Blossom Festival, and is called the Blossom Kite Festival. The schedule looks familiar:

Blossom Kite Festival Schedule*
10:00 AM Opening remarks; Registration begins

Demonstration Field
10:15 AM – 12:00 PM Kite Ballets & Demonstrations
12:00 – 1:00 PM Youth Kite Makers Competition
1:00 – 2:00 PM Kite Ballets & Demonstrations

Competition Field
10:15 AM – 1:00 PM Kite Makers Showcase (Hand-made kites only)
1:00 – 2:00 PM Kite Makers Competition
2:00 – 3:00 PM Hot Tricks Showdown
3:00 – 4:00 PM Rokkaku Battle

* Depending on wind and weather, schedule is subject to change

So the rokkaku battle is around 2 pm (remember, it may be early!) on Sunday, March 27.

The event’s Advisory Committee contains a lot of familiar names that indicate this event is in good hands:

The Blossom Kite Festival presented by the National Cherry Blossom Festival is produced in partnership with the Blossom Kite Festival Advisory Committee: Harold Ames, Bevan Brown, Jon Burkhardt, Rick Kinnaird, Paul LaMasters, Ruth Oyen, Drake Smith, and Mike VanMeers.

Read more about the Blossom Kite Festival on their site.

Kite arch in front of the Washington Monument [Courtesy of National Cherry Blossom Festival press room, 2011]

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Mar15

2009 Smithsonian Kite Festival!

on March 15, 2009 at 2:07 pm

The 2009 Smithsonian Kite Festival is 2 weeks from today, on Saturday, March 28!

This year’s theme is Green Environmentalism. As usual, there will be lots of fun kiting and kid-centric events for all of you spawners.

Our Rokkaku Fighting Team will be on the field seeking a fourth (? I’ve lost count) 1st place trophy. The combat is at 3pm!
↓ Read the rest of this entry…

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Mar29

Smithsonian Rok Battle 2008: Thunderdome

on March 29, 2008 at 8:30 pm

The 2008 Smithsonian Kite Festival saw Complex and Kalika Chris flying and Bruce and Cheryl cheering, along with a host of Washingtonian co-workers. Thanks for coming out, guys!

The rokkaku battle was a beautiful melee of around 14 teams! That many teams left less than six feet between kites when we were setting up, and made it near impossible to avoid tangles in the air. It was a beautiful bar-fight of a battle. Sadly, it’s not a battle we won or placed in; the Midnight Squadron team couldn’t move beyond Thunderdome. We did earn two kills, however, and we were last up in the third heat.

A sudden-death heat had to decide the battle. The Smithsonian Associates lost to The Bike Shop, which was flying the “Fixed Gears” kite, one of the three black-and-white kites made by the same guy.

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Mar31

2007 Smithsonian: Surprising Victory!

on March 31, 2007 at 12:00 pm

The Midnight Squadron Rokkaku team, Complex & Chris (Kalika), won this year’s Smithsonian Rokkaku Challenge!

Like last year, we faced a tough crowd: Harold Ames and his Eagle Eyes team, Charlie Don’t Run, the Rainbow Warriors, and others. We used the lessons they’ve taught us in the past and started cutting people down. We won with 23 points, followed by Charlie Don’t Run (20 points) and Eagle Eyes.

↓ Read the rest of this entry…

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Mar25

2006 Smithsonian Rokkaku Challenge

on March 25, 2006 at 12:00 pm

Our Rokkaku fighting team, piloted by the club Commandant, Chrooke, tied for third place in a tough field!

We won the first heat, taking nine points for kills and being the last kite flying. We followed that up by going toe-to-toe with last year’s champion and master fighter, Harold Ames, in crowd-thrilling low-down dirty fighting. The wind picked up in the third heat, and the already-dangerous Rainbow Warrior became a deadly juggernaut with their eight-foot Shannon rokkaku. They cut us down and proceeded to tie for first and then quickly win the sudden-death contest! Charlie Don’t Run took second, and we tied for third with Team MIKE.

Your lowly scribe, Complex, was the spoolman for this year’s team, and so didn’t see enough of the battle — only the deft fighting technique of Commandant Cooke. We’ll be adding additional details and photos shortly. In the meanwhile, we’d like to thank the crowd for cheering us on!

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