Exploring Life & Business with Sean & Stephany Beaver of Great American Kites

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean & Stephany Beaver.

Hi Sean & Stephany, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
As a young boy I was introduced to kites. On my sixth birthday, my mother introduced me to a small paper kite called an American flyer. This small gift is what started my lifelong passion that has matured and evolved over time into something I now share with my family and communities across the United States.

Stephany and I fell in love with the kite life and my passion for flying giant kites grew through our love and kids. I was always looking for ways to spend time connecting outside of school, organized activities, gaming systems, or our digital world. I wanted a way for us to get outside, laugh and look up together. It was important to me and I realized through research how important outdoor play therapy is for kids and people in general.

As our love and enthusiasm for bringing communities together through the joy of kites continues to grow, so has the demand across the United States with various different festivals and events like concerts, state fairs, get togethers, corporate and private events as well as custom created kite festivals.

We created Great American Kites & Events to meet an increasing demand of helping bring communities together through wholesome outdoor fun. The company’s name comes from my early military service with the army and my overall passion for our country. After spending time in the military in
Iraq, Saudi Arabia, & Kuwait. I wanted to pay tribute to my service by naming the company “Great American Kites“. Our colors are red white, and blue by design and we absolutely love our country.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has been paved with a lot of work, sacrifice, and challenges. Most of the events we produce are on the weekends so while Stephany and I are both HR professionals during the week many of our weekends are filled with kite commitments and events.

We’re building a business and living the American dream and we love what the effort stands for. It’s all about bringing people together, engaging communities, and making a positive difference in people’s lives. We are both working full-time while doing this and it can be challenging. The reality is we have so much passion and enthusiasm for what we do we push through the demands and create an incredible experience because we know in the end those smiles are worth it.

It’s always a lot of fun to see people’s reactions to our events and shows. It’s also our opinion that while we fly kites that’s not what we do, what we do is bring people together, we engage communities and we help create amazing memories. We just happen to fly giant kites in the process.

We’ve been impressed with Great American Kites, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
When you see skies over many communities filled with giant kites you will know the whimsical creations are the once-in-a-lifetime display by Great American Kites!

The color, giant nylon designs, and world-class kite flying company is based in rural Polo Missouri about an hour north of Kansas City and you will see us at many local festivals and events.

Our world-class kite show includes a windsock, officially called “The MegaSock” which is over three stories tall and nearly 200 feet long. Additional pieces include a giant trilobite, caterpillar, large cat, giant manta-ray, eight giant whales, bears, dogs, fish, horses, octopus, squid, crab, tigers, a giant blue bird plus so many more. Our show also includes banners and ground displays which help promote events and give attendees a colorful and sometimes interactive ground experience.

What we’re most proud of is we have the ability to bring an entire community together through the amazing kites we fly. There’s something mesmerizing about our kite show which is universal for everyone.

We specialize in producing, planning, and managing the outdoor giant kite displays and colorful community entertainment experiences for a multitude of clients and partners. We include a mobile kite retail store and offer onsite shopping with options ranging in price in hopes everyone can purchase a kite and fly with us.

We have over 15 years of experience and love creating lasting memories for people of all ages.

Vision: To bring people together and create stronger communities through the extraordinary wonder of kites.

Mission: Inspired by our love of community, we provide amazing kite festival performances, incomparable events, and a dynamic fun family experience that creates a sense of discovery and community. We help people, families, and communities take flight.

Services we offer:

• Consultation, visioning, planning, logistics, infrastructure, and budgeting.
• Site layout and mapping.
• Fundraising, sponsorships, and settlement.
• Vendor management, talent buying/artist & performer management, and concessions.
• Permitting, contracts, event insurance.
• Safety planning, risk mitigation, traffic planning.
• Marketing, advertising, print media, social media, radio, and news media management.
• Event Planning Services, Types of Events:
• Large Professional Kite Festivals, Kite Parties, and Displays.
• Outdoor Festivals (Music, Entertainment, River, Community, and more).
• Concerts, Sporting Events, Promotional Events.
• Corporate Events (Employee engagement events, parties, outdoor employee/family recognition.
• Arts, craft, and food-themed shows.
• Trade shows, grand openings, dealerships, expos, visual marking, and promotions.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Most people probably don’t realize on an annual basis Great American Kites is now participating in over 30 events in eight states. Most of our weekends are booked with events throughout the region and in recent years we’ve even started participating in more winter kite festivals. One where we are highlighted on the national CBS Sunday Morning program and I was even interviewed by Lee Cowan.

https://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs-sunday-morning/video/RInWHAtxEq5mTwQ3DtyirH0pguYKrMTE/go-fly-a-kite-/

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greatamericankites/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreatAmericanKites/
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/gakiteco
• Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdSyQtE7/

Image Credits
Sean Beaver