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VIDEO: Worldwide culture takes wind of White Rock

Four-person kite team joins in the high-flying fun at Sea Festival
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Terry Wiggill, Sari Becker and and Mario Di Lucci kite at White Rock Sea Fest on Sunday. (Katya Slepian/Black Press)

“Up, up, follow me! No, around like this!”

That’s the sound of kite leader Terry Wiggill directing his crew on Sunday afternoon at White Rock Sea Fest.

The Victoria-based foursome, are members of Team Island Kite – a performance quad-line kite team based in Victoria.

“Canada doesn’t have much of a culture of kite-flying, but much of the rest of the world does,” said Wiggill. “Kite culture is worldwide.”

Terry Wiggill and Mario Di Lucci kite at White Rock Sea Fest on Sunday. Katya Slepian/Black Press

But Wiggle didn’t know that a decade ago when he first started.

“A friend gave me a kite and the rest is history!” Wiggill said. “It’s a good time.”

The team – made up of Wiggill, Mario Di Lucci, Sari Becker and Mike Tracy – have travelled to Washington, D.C. and Oregon, and soon hope to go as far as Spain.

Kite-flying has garnered Wiggill some weird looks.

“When you tell your friends you’re going to fly kites, they think of the little diamond things,” he said. “There’s single-line kites, dual-line kites, kites as big as a garage!”

He shakes his head.

“It’s odd. It’s an odd hobby.”