1000 kites to fly over Long Beach Marina on Oct. 23 in attempt for Guinness World Record

Added : ( Wed Oct 13 2004 )

1000 kites to fly over Long Beach Marina on Oct. 23 in attempt for Guinness World Record and to benefit Camp del Corazon & kids with heart disease

3rd Annual Camp Del Corazon Family Festival—with Tommy Lasorda serving as Honorary Chairman—will also feature a 5K Beach Stroll, Kids Fun Area with Rock Climbing Wall, Food & Drink

LONG BEACH, Oct. 12, 2004– Imagine more than 1,000 kites of all sizes and shapes painting the sky over the beautiful Long Beach marina on Oct. 23? The 3rd Annual Camp Del Corazon Family Festival in Long Beach's Marina Green Park will feature this "Heart Strings" Kite Flying Extravaganza at 12 noon to benefit the nonprofit Camp del Corazon for kids with heart disease and also attempt to break a previous Guinness World Record of 674 individual kites being flown at the same time (documentation from Guinness is available).

Participants will fly kites of all descriptions. Some will be homemade simple paper kites with personalized messages to a loved one, while others will be kites made from kits available at the event. The public is invited to fly a kite in honor or in memory of a loved one or friend who has suffered from heart disease. Sign-ups start at 10:30 a.m., with the kite flying "Heart Strings" event beginning at 12 noon. The “Heart Strings” extravaganza will support Camp del Corazon's free summer camp for children living with heart disease.

"We are expecting a minimum of 1,000 kites in the sky on Oct. 23," said event creator Michael
Rivard of Long Beach. "Our goal is to not only beat the Guinness Record and raise money for the camp, but also raise awareness about heart disease, which kills nearly twice as many children each year than all forms of childhood cancer combined. In fact, theirs is the most underserved population of childhood diseases. The colorful and uplifting 'Heart Strings' event at the Camp Del Corazon's Family Festival is being sponsored by local companies and organizations."

Rivard, 59, is one of the longest survivors of open-heart surgery and congenital heart disease. An account executive for KABC and KLOS radio in Los Angeles, Rivard had his pioneering surgery at St. Mary Medical Center for an atrial septal defect in 1956 at age 11, when heart-lung machines were in their infancy. (He was, in fact, the first person in Long Beach to have the surgery and had to be packed in ice for the procedure since the hospital did not have a heart-lung machine.)

The “Heart Strings” kite flying event is part of the 3rd Annual Camp Del Corazon Family Festival, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Marina Green Park in Long Beach. Registration for a 5K Beach Stroll and a Warrior Sand Competition will begin at 8 a.m. The 5K Beach Stroll will begin at 9 a.m. and the Warrior Sand Competition will start at 10 a.m. The festival will feature food and drinks, a kids' fun area featuring a rock climbing wall, an arts and crafts booth where kids can make their own kites, and other festivities.

"'Heart Strings' is a wonderful way to not only become part of a record-breaking effort for flying beautiful kites, but also to become more aware of the work done by Camp del Corazon to support children living with heart disease," said Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill.

For information about the "Heart Strings" kite flying event, call 818.754.0312 or visit
http://www.heartstringslongbeach.com

For more information about Camp del Corazon, go to www.campdelcorazon.org. Camp sessions are held on Catalina Island, 22 miles off the coast of Southern California.

ABOUT CAMP DEL CORAZON
Since its inception in 1995, the nonprofit Camp del Corazon has provided a free residential summer camp for children who are otherwise not eligible for the summer camp experience due to their physical ailments or disabilities. Each year, approximately 300 children attend Camp del Corazon as campers and/or participate in one of the many events and symposiums designed for families living with heart disease.

“Heart Strings” was created by Long Beach resident and camp counselor volunteer Mike Rivard, himself a heart disease survivor. For more information about Camp del Corazon, call (818) 754-0312, Fax (818)754-0842, or go to the Web site at www.campdelcorazon.org. Contact co-founder and Executive Director Lisa Knight, R.N, at lknight@campdelcorazon.org


Contacts:

Ronya Waters
818.754-0312
rwaters@campdelcorazon.org

Mike Rivard
m.rivard@verizon.net
310.266.7676

Camp del Corazon, 11615 Hesby St., N. Hollywood, CA 91601 (818) 754-0312

Web promotions and Internet services provided by G-site Web - www.G-site.com
Submitted by: Mike Rivard Add your press release for free.

Find out more.