Fourth edition of event cancelled

MOSES LAKE — Time was not on the kites' side this spring.

The fourth annual Moses Lake Kite Festival has been officially cancelled due to lack of time to put the event together.

The news did not sit well with fans of kite flying.

Jim Thompson, a local locksmith who has been flying kites for a decade, said he was not too happy about the cancellation, which he heard about last week.

"I was looking forward to seeing all the people coming to fly kites," he said.

Although not very financially successful, the kite festival had managed to bring in the crowds in the three years it had taken place.

Bill Walton had been the main force behind the festival, which had been sponsored by the Moses Lake Business Association. This year, Walton is the president of the MLBA, and it is due to the additional duties of the office that Walton is unable to also lead the festival.

The irony was not lost on Walton, who said he was sad the festival would not be taking place.

The MLBA is currently preparing a dinner this Friday as well as a car raffle. The association has sought the support of local merchants for both the dinner and the raffle, leaving the kite festival as the odd event out and Walton without the time to organize it.

"It's hard to got into a business and promote one thing and then promote something else and get money for both," Walton said, adding that in Moses Lake, there are not that many people who fly kites with any regularity.

A great number of kite-flyers who showed up for the festival came from the west coast, Oregon and cities throughout the state.

"Kite-flyers keep coming back," he said.

Despite the cancellation, there is still hope for those wanting to paint the skies of Moses Lake.

There might be time for a festival later on this year. The summer is practically ruled out, given the high temperatures, low winds and high hotel prices. A more feasible date is late summer or early fall, around August or September.

April is National Kite Month, and there are some advantages to having the festival take place during it. Furthermore, August and September are highly popular kite-flying months, with several meets taking place, which would make it more difficult to lure people to Moses Lake at those times.

Still, Walton is cautiously optimistic, giving the chances of a festival later on this year a rate of six, with one being no chance at all and 10 a certainty.