Let the games begin!

Smiles are the reward for the hard-working founders of Color The Wind

by Marianne Gasaway

When kites fill the air at the Color The Wind festival, it’s all eyes to the sky to enjoy a fantastic show.  But Larry and Kay Day, founders and organizers of the event, find joy at ground level.

“It’s all about the smiles,” said the couple, who will serve as Grand Marshals in Clear Lake’s Fourth of July parade.  “We wanted to do it as a way to pay back and put smiles on people’s faces.”

The Days say they are honored and humbled to be chosen by the Chamber of Commerce for the grand marshal distinction.

“We never expected any recognition.  We are just pleased the event has made so many so happy and helped showcase the community.  The City and Chamber have been fantastic to work with us, along with so many people who help in a variety of ways— from plowing snow off the boat ramp, to clearing the ice, or helping kite flyers get their equipment out on the lake.”

Most probably don’t realize the amount of time and planning that go into an event which lasts just one afternoon.  But just like Clear Lake’s other major events, planning for the next year begins almost as soon as the kites are pulled in this year.

“We wanted it to be successful, but we had no clue it would grow to this extent,” said Larry.

By far, one of the most memorable moments of Color The Wind for the Days has to be the feature story a CBS Sunday Morning crew did about the festival.

Mark Hudspeth, a CBS producer, emailed Kay about the event out of the blue.  He was a native of the Midwest and had seen an article about Color The Wind in a Midwest Living Magazine.  He thought it seemed like a perfect story for the prolific Sunday Morning show.

CBS was all set to cover the February 2017 event, but as fate would have it, there wasn’t enough ice on the lake to safely accommodate the flyers.  The festival was cancelled.  The Days say they were heartbroken that Clear Lake wouldn’t get the na-

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tional attention they had hoped for.  And despite CBS’ promise that they would try again next year, it seemed as though an opportunity may have passed by.

True to their word, CBS made the trek to Clear Lake in 2018 and became enamored with not only the kite festival, but Clear Lake as a whole, said the Days.

“They spent hours and hours here visiting various places and talking to people.  (On-air personality/reporter) Lee Cowan was still here at 5 o’clock the day of the event.  We were surprised they weren’t gone by 2:30.  At the end of the day they came to the Lakeview Room to say good-bye and thanks.  They were fantastic.”

The exposure also helped to grow the festival.  In 2018, the event drew an estimated 10,000 people to watch incredibly large and colorful kites fill the sky over the frozen waters of Clear Lake.  As a result of the CBS story and other media attention, an even larger influx of visitors attended the event in 2019.

The CBS story, like countless others in media ranging from local, to regional, to statewide and nationwide, did an excellent job of sharing the amazing sight the huge kites make on a clear winter day.  What is sometimes not told is the amount of work which goes into putting on the event each year.  Larry and Kay are the sole organizers and do not personally take any pay for putting on the show.  Their tasks include raising money to support the budget of $9,000 to $10,000 needed to cover the 30 hotel rooms they reserve for large kite flyers to stay two nights, breakfasts, lunches, and sometimes travel costs.  While Larry does much of the footwork in advance and is the director on the ice the day of the event, Kay focuses on public relations tasks, responds to information requests, handles the mailing list, emails and website.

“It’s a pretty inexpensive budget to bring in that kind of entertainment,” said Larry.  “We never intended to make anything with this event.  We just want to entertain and put smiles on faces.”

It was a simple smile that first got Larry interested in kites.  Quite by accident, they stumbled upon a kite shop during a visit to Door County, Wis.

“I wanted to get three kites for the grandkids,” Larry recalled.  “I think they were about $12 apiece.  The shop owner explained the kites and I decided grandpa needed one, too.   Mine was about $35.”

Before returning home Larry found himself back at the kite shop.

“I went back for a two-line stunt kite, but I told the owner I wouldn’t pay $100 for a stunt kite.  I got one for $40.  Then I got more and more,” he chuckled.  Today, Larry has a large inventory of kites.  His first big kite was a 10 x 14 with a 100-foot tail.  There’s also a mid-size octopus, gecko and a 32 x 90-foot manta ray.  His collection even includes a $4,500 specially ordered and designed teddy bear, named Buddy.  He and Kay requested Buddy’s red T-shirt say “Hug Me.”  There’s also a whale, a shark, and others which Larry flys at the six or eight kite shows he attends each year.

“I’m done buying more kites,” Larry proclaimed.

“I’ve heard that before,” Kay quickly chimed in with a smile.

“It’s all about the smiles and we have seen plenty.  Elderly people says it reminds them of their childhoods, and families are out there having fun together— even having picnics on the ice or at the sea wall enjoying the kites.  We love it,” said Larry.

Despite the overwhelming success of Color The Wind, it’s future is a bit up in the air.

“It’s becoming physically and emotionally difficult for us to put on,” they said, hinting that 2020 may be their final year.

“We would love to have it go on.  We would dissolve the non-profit and change the name, but it could go on,” said Larry.  “However, I think it is important that a kite flyer runs it,” he said, adding that his attendance at other festivals helped the Clear Lake event to grow.

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