After developing a kite to honor the 10000 Kites project taking place in Israel/Palestine, the Drachen Foundation further tested the "Peace Kite" in workshops and activities during spring 2005.
On February 16th a group of sixth-graders at The Northwest School made "Peace Kites" as part of a school-wide International Day. Drachen Foundation Administrator Ali Fujino and kite maker Greg Kono, who had tested the prototype, were pleased to see that students could readily cut out, assemble, and decorate the kite in twenty to thiry minutes--a length of time short enough for this kite to serve well in settings where large number of youngsters want to make kites quickly. All Northwest School students were also introduced to the 10000 Kites project and were invited to sign one of several kites being sent to Israel/Palestine for the May 20th kite flying.
In May Seattle International Children's Festival, where the Drachen Foundation has sponsored kite making activities for ten years, provided another test site, under "extreme" conditions. Could 3000 children over the course of six days, assisted only by a few volunteers at a limited number of tables, make this kite without snapping too many spars and nerves? Yes, at least when the extraordinarily affable volunteers staffing the activity were from Families For Kids. When rain on the festival grounds drove hordes of children to their tables at once, they streamlined the process by pre-cutting the kite sails and lining the table edges with pre-cut tape. Sunny days later in the festival week lightened the crowds and left more leisure for decorating--and flying.
The Drachen Foundation also provided kite making supplies for the Seattle group supporting 10000 Kites with its own kite fly on May 20th. After an initial downpour, the sun eventually shown on seventy folks--Jews and Arabs, Christians and Muslims--who gathered to make and fly kites with messages of peace. In the voice of D'vorah Kost, one of the organizers, the event featured "children singing and instruments shaking, Native American drum beating, colors a bouncing in the skies, grasses waving, wind blowing, our hopes and dreams aloft, flying out to Palestinians and Israelis flying kites...hearts opening, sending blessings and prayers written on their kites."
Would you like to make your own Peace Kite? The Peace Kite design is now called the Trépanier Trapezoid. Click here for the Peace Kite template and instructions. If you don't want to bother rounding up spars and kite line yourself, you can purchase all supplies to make and fly a Peace Kite through the Drachen Foundation online store at the nominal cost of $1 per kite (packages of ten; perfect for children's parties or after-school activities). |
Kite maker Greg Kono at The Northwest School
Elizabeth Alpaugh |
Northwest School teacher makes Peace Kite
Elizabeth Alpaugh |
Drachen Foundation's Ali Fujino leads Peace Kite workshop
Elizabeth Alpaugh |
Children make peace kites at SICF
Cathy Palmer |
Peace kites fly at SICF
Cathy Palmer |
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