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drastic as his own, but she does enjoy the recreational activity. She loves the hobby. She flies kites as well, he said. She finds it relaxing to fly kites. At home, the couple have a count- less number of kites around their house. I dont even count anymore. Theres hundreds, he said. But he added there is more to kites than just flying them. Kites arent only for flying. Theyre for collecting too, he said. There are kites of cultural signifi- cance. I take kites from all over the world, whether itd be from South America, India, East Asia. I just find an interest in the designs and con- struction of kites from around the world. Mark said he likes the feeling he gets when he flies kites and when he sees the reaction of people who see him fly his. Its an indescribably feeling to be able to harness nature and decorate the sky, he said. Im always pleased at a mini-kite festival, its infectious. Kids start bringing out their kites and start fly- ing alongside us. Hes a member of Toronto Kite Fliers and several other kite groups around southern Ontario. He organ- izes events such as fly days and festi- vals. I even have a kite trailer that I tow in order to go to events locally, he added. If he goes abroad, he has to be cre- ative with how he packs a 50-pound bag. He said on his trip to Malaysia to the Borneo International Kite Festival, he was able to pay for a sec- ond 50-pound bag, which allowed him to bring more creatures. The stay was for a week. However, when he heads to the Frs International Festival de lAir in the French Riviera, he will only be permitted one bag. However, the French festival is only for a weekend, so he doesnt need as many clothes. In Malaysia, which is on the Borneo island, festival organizers took him one day to a native village, where people still carry on their trib- al traditions. Mark will take the opportunity to visit local attractions during a festi- val, if he isnt too busy with his exhibits. He said there are various types of kites, the common ones being sport kites (for aerobatics), art kites (which showoff designs) and fighter kites (used for duels). mark said there are various types of duels; the common ones being to knock your opponent to the ground or to score points by letting your kite make contact with their line. The kites that he brings to the fes- tivals are so large that they cannot be flown by simply holding onto their strings, or in this case ropes. They are anchored to the ground or to some- thing very heavy. At the festivals the kites fly up on 200-foot ropes but he said the length could be even longer provided the flyer has enough open space. Mark also has a piece of Canadian history, which he acquired through his kiting career. In 2007 he organ- ized a 100th anniversary celebration of the flight of Alexander Graham Bells Cygnet tetrahedral kite in Nova Scotia. A tetrahedral kite is com- prised of triangles joined together to make a flyer and Bells creation com- prised of 3,393 triangles. To acknowl- edge Mark for his contribution, he was given one of those triangles that Bell flew more than a century ago. For more information, visit www.blueskykites.ca. Kite flying hobby turned into world-wide adventure SUBMITTED PHOTO GLOBE TROTTER: Gary Mark at the Frs International Festival de lAir in the French Riviera in 2007. Continued from page 1