HOPEWELL CAPE – Fans of kites will be in for a treat when three American kitefliers bring their skills to Hopewell Cape for a kite building and flying workshop at the Albert County Museum.
Cliff Quinn, Marla Miller and Ron Miller will be at the Albert County Museum on Aug. 6 from 9 to 11 a.m. to teach children all about the art of kite building and kite flying.
This is a great opportunity for children of all ages to learn about kite making and flying before the Dieppe Kite International Festival which will take place the following week.
The event is organized by local kite enthusiast Marion Steeves. Her childhood interest in kites was reignited during the late 1990s as she developed ways to incorporate kite making into her art classes at Caledonia Regional High School.
Steeves has offered kite enrichment workshops throughout the school district, and as an active member of the Sky-lines Kite Club in Dieppe she has led multiple community workshops for children and kite club members.
She is a regular participant at the Dieppe Kite International Festival, where she met Quinn, who hails from Pennsylvania. Quinn was planning to arrive early for the Kite Festival and asked Steeves if there might be groups of children in the area who would enjoy a workshop. She immediately thought of the Museum market and the great opportunity this would offer for local children.
Quinn got into kite building in the early 1990s and since then his passion has taken him to kite festivals around the world. He has competed at a number of kiting events and has won many awards, including the prestigious American Kitefliers Association (AKA) Grand Champion Award.
Now enjoying retirement, Cliff loves giving back to the community. He is most passionate about the workshops he offers in hospitals and summer camps for children with life threatening illnesses. He loves to share about kites and nothing makes him happier than the smiles he sees on the faces of children when they create and fly their kite.
Also at the workshop will be Marla and Ron Miller, from Washington State. They have been involved in kiting since 1990 and are ambassadors for kite flying and creation. Over the years, Marla has run fundraising events for the AKA and other kiting initiatives and coordinates the AKA representation for the Dieppe, France festival. She is involved in kids kite making in France, England and at home with schools and special needs children.