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\u201cThe idea came from Redan resident Peter Waugh after he saw an article in a newspaper from the 1800s about Chinese members of the community coming out and flying their kites every Sunday,\u201d said Emily Macdonald, community engagement officer with the Neighbourhood Centre.<\/p>\n
While links to the past was one aspect of the event, it was also about the Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre seeking to further strengthen ties in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were wanting to do some community engagement in Redan and we started connecting with different groups and people, and Peter was one we connected with,\u201d Ms Macdonald said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had the idea and we thought it was such a fun idea, so let\u2019s go with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supported by the Work for Victoria program, which had some extra capacity, the day also included an opportunity for people to come along and learn how to make kites.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were keen to have some experienced kite flyers here to show off what can be done with kites,\u201d Ms Macdonald said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the community kite making it\u2019s also showing how simple it can be to do something fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of those experienced kite flyers on hand to show where the art of kite making and flying can take you was Thomas Duke.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s been involved with the craft as long as he can remember and was at Western Oval with his family run company, Duke-Kites.<\/p>\n
He said that while he often went to the major events around Australia like Festival of the Winds in Bondi and the Adelaide International Kite Festival, it was good to be able to show off his passion where he lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be able to put on a display in our town, which we don\u2019t get to do very often is always great fun,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love seeing people\u2019s reactions to it. It\u2019s generally a nice expression of surprise. You don\u2019t normally see this unless you travel.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IF you looked towards the intersection of Pleasant and Eyre streets in Redan on Sunday, you may have caught a glimpse of something a little different the sky. Kites of all shapes and sizes were up in the air over Western Oval as part of a Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre run initiative called Let’s Go Fly […]<\/p>\n