An international panel of three judges surveyed this year’s 45 entrants into the Drachen Foundation’s Miniature Kite Contest, held this year at the Dieppe International Kite Festival. Michael Alvarez of Australia, Jurgen Ebbinghaus of Germany, and Don Mock of the United States judged entrants from 6 countries in this year’s contest. The kites were flown and displayed for the Dieppe festival crowds on two of the nine-day event. For the first time, contestants were challenged to make kites that would fly outdoors, in the notoriously turbulent winds of Dieppe. Emphasis was not on micro-sized creations, but on the flyability of larger miniatures (with a size limit of approximately 1 sq. foot).
Winners were announced in the following categories:
Best Aesthetic:
Christine Schwarting (Germany)
Isao Ogawa (Japan)
Best Indoor Flyer:
Andreas Agren (Sweden)
Johannes Tophoven (Germany)
Best Outdoor Flyer:
Yukio Akiyama (Japan)
Johan Hallin (Sweden)
Smallest Flyable Kite:
Charles Sotich (USA)
Special recognition went to the several event participants who made and entered kites for the festival: Ashgar Belim (India), Martine Chatel (France), Dilip Kapadia (India), Andreas Agren (Sweden), Ton Vinken (Holland), Christine Schwarting (Germany), Johan Hallin (Sweden), Maxence Cormeras (France). In addition, special thanks goes to Ton Vinken, who demonstrated minature kite-making to the public and shared a variety of creative designs with the Foundation staff.
