WGN-Ch. 9's Joanie Lum surveys the bewildering world of shopping in this column, which runs here on the second and fourth Fridays of each month. The week of each column, Joanie will have more on Thursday's "WGN News at Nine" and Friday's "WGN Morning News.
Mary Poppins sang about them. Ben Franklin performed scientific experiments with them. Charlie Brown got wrapped up in them, literally.
Kites are possibly the least expensive sports equipment for an afternoon of tranquil entertainment.
The simplest ones are made of paper and string. Maybe that's why kite flying has been around for more than 2,000 years. Kites range in size from a postage stamp to 150-foot-long Asian dragons. They can cost pennies or hundreds of dollars.
David Zavelle, manager of Kite Harbor (Chicago and Oak Park), is an expert stunt kite flyer. For beginners, he recommends flying the Delta kite ($4.99-$35). It's a bat-shaped kite that launches the first time it's tossed into the wind -- no running is involved. Similarly, Parafoils (parachute kites with baffles that fill with air) launch straight up so they make easy flying in tight spaces or parks crowded with trees. Diamond-shaped kites held together by perpendicular sticks might be the most recognized, but Zavelle says they're the hardest to fly. They require a lot of running. So do box kites ($14).
Stunt kites ($20-$500) look intimidating but are easy to fly. They're shaped like the delta, but usually are controlled by two lines of string and can dance across the sky. The flyer can manipulate the kite's direction rather than let the wind control its fate. Zavelle says stunt kite flying is a competitive sport that also delivers the simple pleasure of knowing your own hands are steering the kite's path.
Zavelle sells a variety of wind dancers, including pinwheels, flags and bird-shaped wind socks that he says keep predators from nibbling in the garden. In ancient history, kites were used to measure the distance to the enemy during wars in China. In Japan, they're still used in religious ceremonies to bring good luck for the coming harvest.
Here at home, the wind calls kids and adults alike to this peaceful sport. April and May are the best months to fly in Chicagoland . Nowadays, kites are made to travel, and can be wadded up and stuffed into a hip-pack.
Check out Mayor Daley's Kids and Kites Fest at the Museum of Science and Industry, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 6 (rain date May 7). Kids will get instruction and a kite-making kit. Bring a picnic basket of food and enjoy gazing at the sky. 773-684-1414.
The best winds are 8-20 m.p.h.
Tails are helpful only in high winds, more than 20 m.p.h.