Ukrainian kite master finds healing and home at Richmond's Garry Point Park

Anna Kompaniiets arrived in Richmond with two suitcases, two children and a cat in 2022 after fleeing the war in Ukraine. Within three days of stepping onto Canadian soil, she was at Garry Point Park with a kite in her hands.

Before the conflict, Kompaniiets was a significant figure in Ukraine's kite community. She designed and hand-sewed kites and led masterclasses. From 2017 to 2021, she organized the Tryhutty International Kite Festival, the largest of its kind in Ukraine, drawing participants from Italy, Estonia, Turkey, Scotland, China, India and France.

"Flying kites was a chance for me to be involved in the local community. To feel like Canadian," Kompaniiets said. "When you arrive in your (new) country and you don't know anyone, it actually helps you adjust."

She has since become a fixture at Garry Point Park and leads kite-building classes at the Ukrainian Community Society of Ivan Franko on Francis Road. She has also displayed her work at the Ships to Shore Festivals. Her Ukrainian-themed kites, "Motanka" and "Stork," measure between three and five metres and are steeped in Ukrainian iconography. Either can be launched by hand or anchored to the ground.

"It's kind of a treatment for me," Kompaniiets says. "It helps me a lot to not fight, to be calm and with nice mood." Now 40, she shares the hobby with her two children and has helped build a community of kite enthusiasts in Richmond.

Dave Hale, a 67-year-old Surrey resident and photographer, discovered kite flying last November and found the same community. He now owns more than 10 kites, including one measuring roughly 80 square feet. "It's just amazing what you can make and put up in the air and just watch it float," he said.