Air you ready? Kites Over Awesome Lake Antoine display returns on Saturday
IRON MOUNTAIN — Kites will fill the skies at Lake Antoine on Saturday.
Kites Over Awesome Lake Antoine, or KOALA, returns for its second year.
The event showcasing 21 professional kite fliers from the Midwest is set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lake Antoine County Park in Iron Mountain.
KOALA will again feature an exhibit of giant, elaborate show kites.
“Spectators will be amazed by their aerial artistry,” said Doni-Mae B. Rauch, vice president of Lake Antoine Park Partners. “This is the only kite event of its kind in the U.P.
“The popularity of last year’s event was a little unexpected,” Rauch said, noting it brought more than 3,000 visitors to the park. “Because of the great response, the board decided to try to fundraise to do it again in 2023.”
Thanks to the support of community members and businesses, Lake Antoine Park Partners is able to host the family-oriented outdoor activity at no cost.
“Lake Antoine Park Partners is grateful that community businesses who finance the event and citizens who volunteer their time to help us manpower this family adventure,” Rauch said. “We could not do this without them.”
The day’s activities will start at 9 a.m. with a kite workshop for children ages 7 to 12. The first 100 kids to arrive at Pavilion 1 will receive a free mini-kite.
“Kids will be able to decorate them and fly them at the lake,” she said.
A formal national anthem will kick it off the show at 11 a.m., with Mike Caruso serving as emcee for the day.Spectators can enjoy the day walking on the lake to see the kites in the air and talk with the fliers.
“We are going to have candy drops, which will magically appear from the sky,” Rauch said.
They also will have custom-made KOALA souvenirs available for purchase.
New this year, LAPP will convert the campground office into a Snack Shack, offering a variety of sandwiches and snacks as well as warm beverages to purchase during the event.
With the limited parking space, LAPP has hired shuttle buses to transport spectators from the Bay College West parking lot on U.S. 2 to Lake Antoine from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The buses will run every 20 minutes.
The parking and shuttle is free, she added.
Traffic through the park during the event will be one-way only to ease congestion, Rauch said.
Saturday’s current forecast is partly sunny, with a high near 28.
But they don’t worry about the weather, as the professional fliers are used to many conditions, kite event organizer Chow Chong explained.
“We just need winds at about 10 mph and the fliers will put on a show,” Chong said.
Because of the risk factor, no motorized vehicles will be allowed on Lake Antoine during the event. LAPP also asks that those who want to snowmobile or ice fish during the day either find a different location for parking or wait until the event is finished.
The LAPP are happy to be able to do this for the community, Rauch stressed, adding, “it’s really fun — we hope everyone comes out and spends the day at the lake.”
For more information, contact Barb Kramer of LAPP at lakeantoineparkpartners@gmail.com or 906-396-3116.
Terri Castelaz can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 241, or tcastelaz@ironmountaindailynews.com.