Let's Go Fly a Kite!

05.01.09 - Flyng a kite on a warm, breezy day is one of life's simple pleasures. And sure, you could buy a kite at the store, but making your own is so much more fun! That's why we've enlisted the help of our resident experts — the cast of Mary Poppins — to show us how it's done.

Mary Poppins cast members (clockwise from top left) Ashley Brown, Gavin Lee, Alexandra Berro, and Matthew Gumley.

Like most of us, Ashley Brown, Broadway's original Mary Poppins and star of the smash hit tour that recently opened in Chicago, has her own fond memories of playing this spirit-lifting sport. "My dad loved flying kites," she says. "Growing up we would go to the beach and fly our kite while feeding the seagulls — it's one of my favorite memories with my dad."

As Mary Poppins, Ashley doesn't actually fly a kite during the show. However, the kite does play a pivotal role for the Banks family. "It's a huge turning point for the kids in the show. They have always wanted to fly a kite with their father, but he is too busy," she tells Disney twenty-three. "This is such an important lesson for all families — make time for each other because time flies. It's the simple things in life that are most important and that you will always remember."

For his role as beloved chimney sweep Bert, Gavin Lee, also reprising his starring role on tour, draws from his own kite-flying experience. "When I was a kid, we'd take our kites down to the shore," he recalls. "We had one with two strings. We'd get that kite up as high in the sky as possible and then yank one of the strings back as fast as we could to see how many revolutions it would make as it spun downwards."

Alexandra Berro and Matthew Gumley, who played the original Jane and Michael Banks in the Broadway production, also have fun-filled experiences with kites outside of the Broadway show. "Two years ago, my dad and I brought kites on our vacation to Daytona Beach," Alexandra says. "We love playing kite tag, and it was fun trying to keep my big rainbow kite away from my dad's neon pink octopus kite!" Matthew's family has turned this time-honored pastime into a revered holiday tradition. "We fly kites at the beach on Easter and Thanksgiving," he tells us. "It's our family tradition, and it's so much fun!"

So, whether it's a kite you choose to build with your family and friends, or any one of the many other supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ways you can spend time with your loved ones, remember this important piece of advice from the cast of Mary Poppins: Enjoy every minute! Now let's go fly a kite.

Off you go, spit-spot!



LET'S GO MAKE A KITE
Materials:
Craft knife
Hot-glue gun
Fabric scissors
Long ruler
Pencil
Ribbon, any color
5 3/16-inch x 36-inch wooden dowels (balsa wood is the lightest and will work best)
1 yard lightweight canvas or any other suitable lightweight fabric
10 yards thin nylon string

Building a kite requires only a few basic tools — but be careful because some of them are sharp!

Instructions:
Lay a full-length wooden dowel down vertically and mark it 9 inches from the top. With a craft knife, take another dowel and cut it down to 30 inches. Center the 30-inch dowel crosswise at the mark on the full-length piece and glue them together.

To complete the diamond-shaped frame, take one of the three remaining dowels and align one edge with the horizontal lower-right tip of the cross and the other edge with the bottom-right tip of the cross. Cut off any excess length at an angle, making sure the newly sized piece is a snug fit. Glue together securely. Using another dowel, repeat these steps on the lower-left side of the cross. Cut the last dowel in two equal halves and with these pieces repeat the steps on the upper portion of the frame.

After completing the frame, take the nylon string and, making an "X" shape, tie it tightly around the center of the cross and bind the two pieces together. Lead the same string to the top edge of the vertical center dowel and tie it around 4 or 5 times. Glue if necessary. Without cutting, lead the same string back down the length of the center dowel to the bottom edge and tie it around 4 or 5 times, also creating a ½-inch loop for the tail of the kite. Glue if necessary. There should now be a length of string that goes from the top to the bottom edge of the kite with a loop ending it. Cut the remaining string.

To cover your kite, place the finished frame on top of the canvas, string-side up. Using your ruler, trace the outline of the frame, including an additional ½ inch on all four sides, and cut the fabric.

Cut a separate 2-inch piece of string to make a ½-inch loop for your flying line and tie it onto the main string at the point where the dowels intersect.

To cover your kite, place the finished frame on top of the canvas, string-side up. Using your ruler, trace the outline of the frame, including an additional ½ inch on all four sides, and cut the fabric.

Wrap the canvas snugly around the frame, gluing the edge of the canvas to the inside surface of the frame. At the corners, fold the fabric tightly and glue together.

To add stability to your kite, tie a piece of string about 2 yards in length to the loop at the bottom of the kite, thereby creating a tail. Cut pieces of ribbon approximately 5 inches in length and tie along the tail. Tie the remainder of your string (approximately 5 yards) to the center loop for your flying line.