JACKSON -- If kites are fun to watch, they are even more fun when they're dropping loads of candy on eagerly waiting youngsters.
"It's like a piñata except way up in the air," Prairie Ecology Bus Center director Chrystal Dunker said of the remote-controlled kite that dropped treats to a field of local children Saturday at Jackson Municipal Airport.
New to the Prairie Winds Kite Fly this year were demonstrations of stunt kites.
"The older kids are coming out for it; it's a little more interactive," Dunker said. "Later we'll have bol races, where they're pulling parachutes against the wind --it's harder than it sounds."
Professional kite flyers from as far away as Minneapolis, Omaha, Neb., and Jamestown, N.D., were also out in full force, their giant, intricate kites filling the sky with color. On one end of the field, the tails of a multicolored red, white and blue kite seemed to draw lines in the breeze, while a massive teddy bear and "Finding Nemo"-style clownfish floated in the air.
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It was a chance for children to create their own sled kites on sheets of plastic and learn more about kite flying through a scavenger hunt designed by the PEBC.
"It's a beautiful day for it," said John Beardsley of Lakefield, who brought his grandchildren to the event. "I just give them the kite and see what happens; the worst they can do is crash. They want to do it; they don't want you to do it for them."
Nearby, granddaughter Hannah Hash, 4, of Lakefield, seemed to be getting the hang of things.
"I got my kite from the Easter bunny," she shared. "I fly it all by myself."
