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Kitefliers convention reels in dollars for merchants
By SHARON L. BOND © St. Petersburg Times, published October 1, 2000 TREASURE ISLAND -- The American Kitefliers Association is holding its weeklong annual meeting here for the first time. Planners expect 500 or more kite enthusiasts to stay in beach hotels, meet in local facilities, eat in restaurants and buy souvenirs and supplies.
The convention costs $60,000 to put on, excluding the payment to the convention director, said Mel Hickman, executive director of the association. Much of that money goes to local businesses. For example, Banquet Masters in Pinellas Park will host the convention's two big dinners at an estimated $10,000 apiece. The Bilmar Beach Resort has 60 rooms rented for the week of the convention at $80 per night. Bob Garton Jr., director of marketing for the resort, said area hotels agreed to offer the $80 per night rate as a standard for the kite-fliers. Hickman said $100 of the $150 registration fee probably goes into the local economy. He estimated those attending the convention probably spend another $25 per day with area businesses. Treasure Island has a kite competition in January that features elaborate kite creations on display and in competitions. "To me, it's just an amazing thing to see," Atkinson said of the Treasure Island event. "They take the kites and put music on the loudspeakers and make the kites fly to the music. They have routines. "There's none of this Sunday morning paper thing put together with flour paste," Atkinson said, referring to the elaborate creations. The annual convention, which runs through Oct. 7, will do the same on a much larger scale. Among the planned events are mass ascensions of sports kites, individual kite ballets, pairs ballets, kitemakers competitions and a kite art gallery opening, among many others. Many of the events, such as the competitions and ballets, will be repeated on different days. The convention also offers workshops on building fighter kites or learning the basics of kite aerial photography. The events taking place on the beaches are open to the public. Those who want to attend the convention's various workshops must pay registration fees, which are different for workshops, the banquet and auction, Hickman said. The Treasure Island meeting will be the association's 23rd annual convention. It has 4,000 members, 80 percent of whom are age 20 and older, said Hickman, who calls kite flying a great equalizer. "The wind either blows for you or its doesn't," he said. "It's a person flying a kite, not a lawyer flying a kite." Atkinson said representatives from the association came down several years ago to check out the town and the beaches for the convention after taking with the Gulf Beaches Chamber of Commerce. One of the things the group found lacking was ideal meeting space. But Atkinson said the beaches won them over. "They fell in love with the beaches so much so that they offset some of the places that had facilities but didn't have beaches," the mayor said. "We just felt the beach would be a really good place for this event," said Maureen Posillico, convention manager. Meetings and workshops will be held in different places, such as the Treasure Island municipal auditorium, Banquet Masters in Pinellas Park and conference rooms provided by the participating hotels.
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