DANA POINT : Kite Contest Is a Breeze--a Day Late

It took a day longer than expected, but ocean breezes finally showed up for the Festival of Whales’ kite event on Sunday, keeping kites--and spirits--aloft.

More than 80 kite enthusiasts camped out over the weekend to compete against fellow fliers and to display their creations for beach-goers. An absence of wind kept them from getting the show off the ground Saturday, but 10- to 20-m.p.h winds Sunday produced “a great kite day,” said Cathy Kent, who helped sponsor the event with her husband, Steve.

“We had hundreds of people out there,” she said.

It was a stark contrast from Saturday, when dozens of disappointed kite fans waited in vain to participate in scheduled kite ballets, stunt control and team and solo challenges. Giant speakers blasted lively music, and the judges waited in anticipation for the breeze to pick up. But on that day, the winds never came.

“We’re just waiting for the wind,” said George Aguilera, 32, “and it’s been a long wait today.” The Huntington Beach resident planned to show off his mastery in the kite ballet contest with a colorful model that featured two rows of five connected triangle kites.

Even without the wind Saturday, some weren’t complaining.

“This is just a wonderful, peaceful way to meet people,” said Tustin resident Bobby Stansfield, a two-time American Kite Assn. champion who travels around the world for kite festivals. He began flying eight years ago and has since become an established kite builder. “Sometimes I’m trying to figure out whether I’m playing or working,” he said.

Kite shops and other groups from throughout Southern California exhibited their nylon-made fliers, many valued in the hundreds of dollars.

Roger Chavez and Susan Glabman of La Habra, who showed off a 13-foot bumblebee kite, began manufacturing and selling kites in 1987 when their passion for the hobby inspired them to design their own models.

“Personally, I like sculpture over single-line kites,” Chavez, 42, said, “because I can create whatever I dream up.” Sculpture kites are shaped into everything from palm trees to whales and often inflate once airborne.

Even without winds or a fancy kite, 10-year-old Erika Portillo of Laguna Hills was having a blast with her flat 12-inch kite on Saturday. “If I run really fast it goes up in the air and I feel happy,” she said before dashing off to prove her theory. And it worked.