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Meet the man bringing kites to life at Milwaukee's Veterans Park

Some people mark the new year by making a resolution, some do the Polar Bear Plunge and jump into Lake Michigan, and others fly a kite.

That’s what will be happening Jan. 1 along Milwaukee’s lakefront at Veterans Park. It's called the Cool Fool Kite Festival.

Scott Fisher got it started.

Extended conversation with Scott Fisher, owner of Gift of Wings in Veterans Park.

He's the creator and operator of the Gift of Wings kite store in Veterans Park. Fisher says he wasn’t particularly drawn to kites and had spent zero time along Milwaukee’s lakefront. “Actually, it wasn’t called Veterans Park at the time; it was called the McKinley landfill,” Fisher says.

So, what was the attraction?

It started with his love of aviation. “I’m a pilot, so I wanted to have a store that sold aviation gifts. And I did that at Mayfair Mall,” Fisher says.

People came in looking for kites, so Fisher decided to sell those too.

“Around that time is when kite flying changed because of the introduction of new materials—ripstop nylon, graphic bars instead of the old wooden sticks that broke,” Fisher says.

Kite sales soared. That was in 1986.

Scott Fisher
Memorial Day weekend kite festival in 2016.

Then Fisher heard rumblings about plans for the filled land east of Milwaukee’s lakefront lagoon.

“I think it was the county executive or the parks director—I’m not sure what he was at the time—Dave Schulz. He decided that he was going to fill this entire park full of trees,” Fisher says.

Fisher says lots of people reacted negatively to the idea, so he decided to write Schulz a letter proposing a kite festival.

“Schulz said, ‘OK, I want you to bring your van down to the park and sell kites.’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t have a van. I said I want to build a building and stay here in the summer.’ And he said, ‘I don’t care what you do, just do it in two weeks,’” Fisher recalls.

The original shop in 1987
Scott Fisher
The original shop in 1987

What started in 1987 with a 10-by-10 lawnmower shed gradually evolved into a building more than 10 times that size. The shop includes a concession stand and lots and lots of kites.

“The most popular is the Easy Flyer kite, which comes with this long 5-foot tail. You see the patterns on it fit in with the kite itself, and it’s easy to fly because it’s the Easy Flyer kite,” Schultz says.

Today, multiple annual festivals attract kiters throughout the year, including teams from other parts of the country.

“One team is the Chicago Fire Kite Team. It’s one of the original teams, and they’ve been coming to this park since 1992, I believe. Another team, called the International Windjammers International Kite Team, mostly consists of African American team members,” Fisher says.

Each member flies 12 kites—each with 50-foot tails—simultaneously. Each kite has a hat that includes Windjammers International. “They come here every year. They’re based out of Detroit, and they’ll be here Memorial Day weekend,” Fisher says.

On Jan. 1, Fisher anticipates seeing lots of families flying kites. “And we have a bunch of guys coming out; I call them the quiet ice carvers. They carve snow and ice … they’re the number one group in the country. They live in Brookfield,” Fisher says.

Scott Fisher amidst a sea of kites at his Veterans Park shop.
Susan Bence
/
WUWM
Scott Fisher amidst a sea of kites at his Veterans Park shop.

Here’s the biggest surprise of the Scott Fisher story: Yes, he loves aviation, but it was his passion, not his profession. Before he launched into the kite business, Fisher managed movie theaters throughout southeast Wisconsin.

“And this sort of came along, and I had to make a decision and decided I wanted to do this,” Fisher says.

He also owns kite shops in Franklin and Historic Greenfield Village, but in summer, you’ll find him here at Veterans Park. “Yeah, I always try to be down here in the summer. I still love it,” Fisher says.

Fisher reached out to a Canadian maker who has shared his giant kites at Veterans Park.
Scott Fisher
Fisher reached out to a Canadian maker who has shared his giant creations at Veterans Park.

Susan is WUWM's environmental reporter.
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