By Dan Hust
LOCH SHELDRAKE — May 6, 2003 – It was sunny, it was warm, it was windy on Saturday – perfect for flying kites.
And exactly the opposite of what the weatherman was predicting.
Much to the chagrin of Sullivan County Community College Director of Campus Operations James Goldfarb, his postponement of the annual Sullivan County Kite Day at the college’s campus in Loch Sheldrake was ultimately unnecessary – and may have resulted in a lower turnout than last year.
Still, more than 100 people came out on Saturday, and another 1,200 showed up on the rescheduled date of Sunday – all to fly hundreds of kites of varying shapes, sizes, colors and capabilities, from sharks to planes, abstract designs to color-crazy ones.
They were joined on the front lawn of SCCC by representatives of the PRASAD Project (children’s dental health), Hudson Health Source, the Loch Sheldrake Fire Department, the Monticello Kiwanis, the Vantwistics (musical entertainment), the county Visitors Association, and members of the New York Kite Enthusiasts club of Albany.
Jeff Siegel of the Spencer Daniels Agency in Monticello provided inflatable games for the kids, while others tried out the ice cream, shopped for jewelry and clothes, got their pictures taken with local motorcyclists, perused such offerings as soap and puppets, listened later to the Sullivan County Community Chorus, or – like Nelson Rohrs and mom Joan of Smallwood – put together a brand new kite and took advantage of the brief gusts of wind to send it aloft.