Kite festival soars back into Naperville

For about 20 years, Al Sparling of Naperville has been involved with what he calls “a hobby gone insane” — flying 90-foot kites for festivals around the world.

Looking like Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons, the kites are filled with air and anchored to a truck or the ground with 1,800 pounds of test rope and about 400 square feet of sail to keep them suspended.

An octopus, gecko and trilobite are the three titan kites he’ll fly at the sixth annual Frontier Kite Fly Festival, which runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 3, at the Frontier Sports Complex, 3380 Cedar Glade Drive, Naperville. The free event is hosted by the Naperville Park District.

Joining Sparling will be professional kite fliers Daryl Waters and Mike Holl from Team Chicago Kite, who will demonstrate and teach their skills. Families are encouraged to bring and fly their own kites as well.

While kites are the main attraction, the festival also features music and performances by groups such as the Neuqua Valley High School Steel Band, Peaches Beach Party, the Élan Dance Company, and singer/guitarist Andrew Huber. And for $5, children can enjoy unlimited play in the inflatables area.

Events like the kite fly help to “keep the focus on the family and to bring interest in the Naperville area,” said Fred Gusel, superintendent of recreation for the Naperville Park District.

It was events like the Frontier festival that inspired Sparling to take up kite flying, he said. Like a lot of kids, Sparling liked to play outside and would fly a kite now and then when the weather was right. But at a kite festival in Chicago he saw bigger single-line kites and “sport” kites being flown. He was hooked.

Now he travels all over the world, including countries like South Korea and India, to fly his kites. His favorite part of the job?

“Meeting people and making friends,” he said.

He’ll have plenty of chances to meet new friends at the Frontier Kite Fly, where organizers expect 400 to 600 people to turn out to see the kind of kite flying that turned Sparling from a casual hobbyist into an outright enthusiast.

For information, call (630) 848-5000 or visit napervilleparks.org.