Staff Writer
Sunday Night Flights have taken off again this summer at the Crestline launch site on Playground Drive.
The Sunday Night Flights event begins at 5:30 p.m. and ends sometime after dark.
For several Sunday nights each summer the Crestline Kooks invite their friends and those who want to enjoy the beauty of the mountains with them to share a late afternoon/early evening paragliding show, weather permitting. They invite friends to come out, enjoy the show and friendship with their fellow mountain residents of all generations from the old hippies of the 60s to recent Rim grads.
The Crestline Kooks – an organized group of paragliders and hang gliders who “want to release positive energy into the world” – bring generators to the launch site so folks can listen to the live music played. This year the bands have been The Sawpit Canyon Band, who played on June 23 and will return on July 21; Ryan Dufford from Twin Peaks played last week; and The Philbillies will be playing on the last Sunday Night Flight on Aug. 4. They play beginning at 5:30. The evening is mostly a word-of-mouth event with some Instagram and Facebook posters.
The music and vendors are coordinated by “Mama Kook Cilla,” who has lived on the mountain for seven years and been involved with the Kooks for six of those years when she learned to parasail.
“I enjoy putting smiles on these happy faces and thrive on the loving vibes we get from these evenings. Showing off these paragliders to the community is so much fun. The fliers like to show off and the community seems to like to come out to watch them. It’s lots of work but so worth it. We unfortunately have to return the next day to pick up the trash they leave behind. We have out trash bags, but some trash seems to not make it into the bags, but it is worth it.”
During the evening, some local venders have set up tables with some food and clothing items for sale. Many families bring a picnic dinner to enjoy as they sit on their blankets and watch the paragliding show. There are children of all ages running around, making friends and playing together.
Local artist Molly Collins gave lessons at last Sunday’s event.
On Sunday, July 7, artist Molly Collins was offering a plein-air class of the view from that elevation and the sunset. She had three artists creating beautiful acrylic paintings of the wonderful sunset view until it got too dark.
Crestline Resident Luke Berry said the flight nights have a vibe that is so peaceful, with everyone there to enjoy the tranquility of the location and each other. Several of the more mature community members attending were remembering back to the free concerts in the parks of the hippy era. The younger adults, such as Timmy, were enjoying the free concert with their friends, saying it was better than the bar vibe, although many attend both, but they said say this locale offers more opportunity for talking and meeting good folks who live on the mountain.
After sunset, Wyatt and Ryan, who have a passion for being DJs, played dance music with flashing lights. The children were enjoying the music and dancing about in the dark, with glow sticks around their wrists and ankles in the flashing lights.
The Crestline launch site is at 800 Playground Drive on U.S. Forest Service land. The launch site is recognized internationally as an excellent expert site for highly qualified hang glider fliers, with the landing site at the Andy Jackson landing site in San Bernardino.
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