Kite enthusiasts try to catch a breeze Saturday in Naperville

Darryl Waters drove more than 175 miles from his Michigan home and all he wanted was a few sustained gusts to send his oversized kite skyward.

"Earlier this morning, I had it up for about 20 minutes," Waters said Saturday of his 12-foot-long, 16-foot-wide stingray-like kite, which lay prostrate on the lawn at Frontier Park. "But the winds can't get any worse than this."

Dozens of families spent the day trying to launch kites of all shapes and sizes at the Naperville Park District-sponsored Frontier Kite Fly Festival. Besides the kite flying, kids had a chance to let loose in an play area that included inflatable bounce houses, a climbing wall and a penny carnival.

Throughout the day, families tried their best to make use of what little wind came their way.

Simon Hsu of Schaumburg darted across a field with his 5-year-old niece, Karisa Hsu, following close behind. For a while, the pair's yellow kite was airborne.

"I can't catch a wind though," Simon relayed to his niece as the pair kept running.

"But our kite is (flying) the highest," Karisa assured him.

Sure enough, as the pair stopped to catch their breath, their projectile came crashing down.

For a few minutes, Waters also was able to get his kite airborne. The hand-sewn beast floated in place about 20 feet in the air - as its 165-foot-long tentacles flapped in the wind - for a good five minutes before again coming to rest on the lawn.

Kite enthusiast groups made the trip from all over the Midwest, only to spend much of the day waiting.

"It's really dead out here," said Mike Kory, president of Illinois Kite Enthusiasts, who planned to do a six-man demonstration.

The group will get another shot at showcasing their aerial kite acrobatics. The kite festival continues Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Frontier Park.