For the annual Community Environmental Fair (CEF) on April 26, the challenge for The Sky’s The Limit! volunteers was to create kites from recycled and reusable materials.  Of necessity and curiosity, since I started making kites 4 years ago I’ve grabbed any plastic or paper around the house to fashion a kite.  So the practice isn’t foreign to me, but refining it has been more a trip than a journey! 

The Fair and kitebuilding lasted more than 4 hours and the kites were flown in a park surrounded by large buildings.  This calls for simply constructed, easily flown, lightweight kites, so I adapted some of my favorite newspaper and shopping bag kites to lighten them up.  We made nearly 200 – Old News(papers) – New Kites, Go Green with the Red White and Blue (former tablecloths) for the VFW, and My Kite’s My (shopping) Bag were this year’s choices.  Please come again next year for more ingenious kites!

The City of Pocatello is the main CEF sponsor, and local businesses, offices, and organizations such as the Greenway, recycling centers, and kids’ crafters all volunteer to help put on the Fair.  This year’s theme, GO GREEN, emphasized hands-on demonstrations, green exhibitors, live music, free green activities for kids, and entertainment throughout the day. 

The rest of the participants hope for a sunny, calm day – I hoped for and got a light breeze to fly the kites!  And we all hope for lots and lots of folks to attend every year, learn how to implement green practices into your everyday life, and have fun!

A big thanks to our volunteers Joan, Chelsea, Marie in Pocatello; JoEtta from Paul; and RJ from Boise.  Your tireless kitemaking with The Sky’s The Limit! was impressive and over the top!  Thanks also to the VFW for partnering with us again – see you in the fall at the Memorial Building for another workshop, Come Fly a Kite With a Veteran. 

Registration is now being taken at the Portneuf Library for our next workshop June 5!