Greg Swenson and other members of the St. Louis-based Gateway Kite Club met halfway with members of the Kansas City Kite Club for the One Sky-One World festival Sunday at Cosmo-Bethel Park. (STEVE ENGLISH/Missourian)

Colors and creatures transformed a pale blue sky on Sunday into an array of mystery and intrigue.

A pterodactyl striped in black, purple and white flew at the mercy of the wind, appearing as if it were swooping down to snatch its escaping prey.

Across the field, a large white, fluid kite advanced across the sky like an amoeba above a sea of peering eyes.

The One Sky-One World kite flying festival attracted these and other unique kites from across Missouri. With approximately 30 owners controlling the strings, each creature established its territory at Cosmo-Bethel Park to participate in the worldwide kite flying event. In addition to the kiters, about two dozen people from the community stopped by throughout the day to take in the sights.

More than 30 nations took part in this event on Sunday, which began 20 years ago as an attempt to promote global unity. Earlier this year, the Gateway Kite Club of St. Louis and the Kansas City Kite Club decided to join one another for the event at a central location. Columbia seemed like the perfect fit.

Roy White, 73, says he would like to see more young people take up the sport of kiting. (CAROLIN BURRER/Missourian)

��We thought it would be very appropriate for an event that emphasizes unity to meet halfway between Kansas City and St. Louis,�� said Linda Larkey, secretary for the Kansas City Kite Club.

Larkey said that the sport of kiting is growing and gaining popularity worldwide because of its capacity to attract a variety of people. The ages of kite fliers from the Kansas City Kite Club ranged from 6 to 45 on Sunday.

��It doesn��t matter what your style is, there is something that can appeal to you,Manchester City shirt,�� Larkey said.

Kiting has traditionally been more popular in Europe than in the United States,Football shirts, Larkey said. However, kiting clubs are popping up all around the country in recent years. There are currently 113 kite clubs nationwide, with over one-third of those being along the Eastern coast where the winds are much more steady. Though the Midwest winds are fitful,Bayern Munich shirt, more forceful and harder to predict, interest in kiting among people throughout Missouri is also beginning to rise.

Larkey compared kiting to golf.

��People who play golf talk about their friends who play, the outdoors and the fitness they receive,�� she said. ��It��s the same with kiting. Kiting is an extraordinary sport because of the people.��

Jim and Norine Bailey of Columbia were hooked one Saturday afternoon in 1994. After watching two men fly kites in a park, the Baileys decided to purchase a kite of their own. They returned to the park late in the afternoon and flew their kite until dark.

��What is great about it is that you can do it yourself, you can do it with others, or you can do it with family,�� Norine Bailey said.

Now the Baileys have 36 kites of all sizes and weights to compensate for the different wind speeds they encounter.

Jim Bailey, 61, said that it has amazed him how kites have changed since he flew them as a child. He said that the paper kites that he once enjoyed are disappearing in favor of newer ones made of ripstop nylon.

��We flew when we were young,�� he said. ��It just wasn��t as sophisticated as it is now.��

An inability to attract younger generations, however,Ajax shirt, is a concern for 73-year-old and veteran kite flier Roy White.

��It��s a great hobby, but we can��t grab any kids�� he said. ��They love to play with it, but then they get tired of it and put it down.��

After having flown kites as a small child, White picked the hobby back up 20 years ago. He and his partner Leona Murry spend hours designing, making and flying their kites.

��When I see a picture of a kite, I��ve got to have one,�� said White with a smirk on his face.

His fire-engine red mini-van sat parked in the open field, each seat stacked with ripstop, spars and string, the material needed to create a kite.

When asked what intrigues him about flying kites, White said, ��Who cares as long as you are having fun.��

A few minutes later his kite hits the ground defeated. Succumbing to its strings and the wind, it lay motionless, now at the mercy of a child who irreverently snatches it up trying to give it a boost back into the wind��s gusts.

Each kite has a personality, a unique character. On Sunday, each had its moment to show off.