Go fly a kite

There were some serious strings attached to a special presentation held for the students of Thornton Elementary School last Thursday.

A professional kite flyer, Scott Weider, visited the school yard to explain some of the basics about kites and to put on a demonstration of kite flying. Scott, who grew up in Rhode Island and now lives on the west coast in Washington, has been flying kites since 1992. He’s won multiple regional and national championships in both indoor and outdoor competitions, and has also performed on Season 4 of America’s Got Talent.

On that sunny afternoon, the Thornton students were lined up outside to watch this kite flying experience. Scott explained to the kids that in some form or fashion, many cultures have been using kites for thousands of years. He said that “whether it is for competitive, religious or recreational purposes, kiting seems to bring people together.”Scott brought three kites to demonstrate; two Revolution Quad-line Kites and Stunt Kite.

Ms. Stephanie Rego, member of the Thornton PTO, said “I met Scott about seven years ago at the Newport Kite Festival at Brenton Point state park. It was the first time I had been to this free event and was completely amazed at all of the different kites and the stunts that the flyers could do with them. When Scott reached out to me and said he was in town and was willing to come by the school to put on a show for the students, I thought ‘Yes, absolutely!’”

Scott explained to the students that these kites are not your typical single string flyers. The kites that he flies have either two or four lines to allow for greater control. Some of the students in the front row got to touch the tail of one of the kites as it flew overhead.

“The performance was amazing”, exclaimed Mrs. D’Arezzo. The students really enjoyed watching the show. By a show of hands, some students have never owned a kited before nor flew one. Ms. Drew stated that “it was terrific that he could come out to Thornton.”

Through his kite flying, Scott has met great people and made friends across the globe, and has now made a new group of friends at Thornton Elementary School.