Ghana Paragliding Festival

Nearly $11,000 USD raised...

2011-07-01T16:46:00.001-07:00

With your generosity the FSV-GoPro raffle raised $1060 for the CloudBase Foundation to benefit children in Ghana. Thanks to everyone who donated and the pilots that participated in the fund raising efforts through the CloudBase Foundation. In total, the tandem pilots that participated in the Ghana Paragliding Festival this year raised nearly $11,000!!! The monies were distributed amongst several different charities. Approximately $5000 was donated to the Village of Hope, $2000 to the Save the Children Orphanage, and the remaining amount went to water systems and filtration for several different villages.

Raffle to benefit children in Ghana

2011-03-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

In conjunction with GoPro, Fly Sun Valley is holding a raffle for some GoPro gear to raise funds for the Cloudbase Foundation. The funds raised will go specifically to children projects in Ghana, etc, associated with the Ghana Paragliding Festival.

The items up for raffle are 2 GoPro Hero HD cameras ($300 retail each) and 2 LCD BacPac’s, ($80 retail each). The items will be raffled separately, so there are 4 chances to win. Each raffle ticket is $10, 4 for $30, etc. There is no limit to the number of raffle tickets that can be purchased. The drawing will be on April 15th. The winners will be contacted directly and their names posted on the Fly Sun Valley Facebook page. Anyone interested in donating and entering the raffle should mail a check, (made out to the "Cloudbase Foundation" ) directly to the CBF or to Fly Sun Valley. In the memo area, please remember to print;“Ghana-GoPro/Fly Sun Valley” to be sure you are correctly entered in the raffle. Follow the same “memo” instructions if you make an on-line PayPal donation through the Cloudbase Foundation website. Important: Contact Fly Sun Valley if you make your donations directly to the CBF.

Festival 2011 is a "Go"!!

2011-03-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

Once again, we will be returning to the equatorial air of West Africa to attend the Ghana Paragliding Festival, This annual event, which is sponsored by the Ghanaian government and Ministry of Tourism, is held at Easter. With its popularity growing every year, the festival has now become an integral part of the Easter holiday celebration in Ghana.

The primary purpose of our attendance is to give tandem paragliding flights during the festival. This year we hope to give even more. As attendees of the festival we are soliciting charitable donations to assist the children of the area where the event is held. Last year a $3000 grant from the Cloudbase Foundation was used to help the local orphanage with their drinking water supply. This year we are raising funds in direct association with the Cloudbase Foundation, an American registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. The Cloudbase Foundation was founded by hang gliding and paragliding pilots, wanting to help disadvantaged children, specifically the children that live in the areas where we go to fly. It’s a small gesture but a valuable one.

Please assist us with your support. Even a small amount of money goes a long way in the underprivileged countries of Africa. One time (and monthly) donations to the Cloudbase Foundation can be made through their website: http://thecloudbasefoundation.org When donating, in the “notes” area, please write “Ghana-Fly Sun Valley”. This insures that 100% of your donation goes to this specific program and also helps us catalog the pilots that are soliciting the donations. You will also receive a receipt for tax purposes.

Contact me with any questions...Cheers, Chuck

Ghana Paragliding Festival 2011...

2011-02-27T09:48:00.001-08:00

The festival for 2011 is currently scheduled for April 22-25. We are awaiting notification from the Ghana Tourist Bureau concerning the status.

Looking forward to another great event. Last year in 2010 we flew a record 230 tandem flights!!

Ghana Paragliding Festival-Unique in every way!

2010-02-25T17:05:00.000-08:00

Written by: Sabrina Krewin, Chuck Smith & Ed Stein

The following article was printed in the February 2010 issue of Hang Gliding & Paragliding Magazine

When you step off of the plane in Accra, the capital of Ghana, the equatorial air hits you like a steamy, sultry cloud, full of unfamiliar aromas and promises of exciting adventures. Loud music, hot food, gorgeous views and friendly faces begin to warm your soul and spread a huge smile across your face! And that’s not all that you have to be happy about, because every year, one of the most unique paragliding festivals on the African continent is hosted in Ghana.

In just a few short years, the Ghana Paragliding Festival has become an integral part of the annual Easter celebrations, which is one of the most popular holidays in many regions throughout the country. The festival attracts both Ghanaians and foreigners alike for more than 3 days of spectacular aerial fun, ceremony and music. For the last 5 years, tandem pilots have gathered from around the world to fly local Ghanaian spectators and foreign visitors. The festival is open to solo pilots as well; and boasts consistent flying conditions, that begin around mid morning and remain soarable until late in the day. The thermals are consistently large and mild, and offer a fantastic opportunity for both newer pilots to gain valuable experience and airtime as well as for seasoned pilots who want to fly for hours “stress free”.

There are many reasons to attend the Annual Ghana Paragliding Festival, as either a participating tandem pilot, a solo pilot or a non-flying guest:

1) The Festival exposes hundreds of Ghanaians, as well as a large number of tourists, to the magic of free fight. Remember how beautiful and mind-altering your first flight was? Well, the festival is a remarkable opportunity for many Africans, who struggle on a daily basis just to secure consistent meals, to experience something that otherwise they would never have access to.

2) The Festival brings together the international flying community, by providing a well-organized opportunity to visit Africa. It can be a challenge to travel in Africa; especially flying sites, which are usually off of the beaten tourist paths. But the superb organization of the festival makes it fun and easy for tandem and solo pilots to show-up and enjoy a fully catered trip; complete with arranged hotel accommodation, transportation, meals and cultural immersion via local daytrips.

3) The festival strengthens the local economy by creating opportunities for local business proprietors (such as taxi drivers, hotel owners, food vendors and souvenir sellers) to earn much needed income. Furthermore, this year the festival’s ambition is to give back more to the local communities by matching donations with charitable efforts. Such as in 2007, when attending pilots Matt Gerdes and Sabrina Krewin coordinated with Ozone to donate $1000 dollars towards a computer lab project at Savelugu School for the Deaf, in Northern Ghana. Likewise, this year the festival is reaching out to anyone interested in making a donation of $50 to sponsor a free-flight for a local spectator. By gathering donations for sponsored flights, more money can be made available to off-set the costs of participating tandem pilots, which means that more participants can have the chance to fly. Another example of how the festival is giving back to the local community is the efforts of a tandem pilot attending from Norway, who is hoping to contact corporations to raise money for supporting local school children.

To those who are not familiar with Ghana, it is on the central west coast of Africa bordered by Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the West, Togo to the East. Situated just 5 degrees from the equator and directly on the Greenwich Meridian, it’s fun just to see your GPS reading nearly all zeros. Furthermore, The Republic of Ghana is one of the politically safest African countries, being the first African State to achieve democratic independence in 1957. Entering the airport terminal, “Akwaaba,” meaning welcome in the Twi language, is painted on the wall in giant letters. Previous festival guests will attest that the kind and hospitable people of Ghana are among the friendliest people in the world. Amazingly, Ghana is home to more than a hundred different ethnic groups; and while most Ghanaians also speak at least one local language, the official language in Ghana is English.

The festival kicks-off after the local chiefs give their royal authorization for the ceremonies, and government officials complete their formal proclamations. The history of the festival goes back to March 2003 when, as the new Minister of Tourism and Modernization of the Capital City, Mr. Jake Tonka Obetsebi-Lamptey visited the Kwahu ridge as part of his familiarization tour of the country, and by chance crossed paths with the festival’s organizer, Walter Neser. The first Ghana Paragliding Festival, in 2005, was launched by H.E.Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Vice President of the Republic of Ghana.

As soon as the giant speakers that are set-up on launch began to play local hit songs, the crowd starts to cheer and dance and the pilots prepare for take-off. Everything in Ghana involves music. It’s an essential staple of the country and prerequisite for any event; appropriate since Ghana is the seminal home to Highlife music, Blues, Reggae, and Rock n’ Roll. Now it’s finally time for the ‘flying people’ to start doing their stuff, as many locals call the paragliding pilots. The humid, tropical air offers tranquil flying and fat, silky edged thermals upon take-off the launch site, which can be a little bit tricky for novices. The local vultures are perfect thermal markers and are totally comfortable with the presence of airborne humans, as they soar just inches away from your glider.

Cloud base is usually about 2000ft over launch and getting there offers a perfect respite. Approximately 1400 feet below launch, the LZ is a spacious and grassy soccer field, only moments away from the best hotel in the area. These relaxed flying conditions juxtapose with the energized atmosphere at launch. The dedicated percussion band plays non-stop all day as hundreds of spectators shout with excitement as each glider leaves the ground. The animated M.C. also entertains the crowd with humorous announcements called over a crackling PA system. Television and radio crews conduct interviews with pilots and passengers, alike, capturing overall enthusiasm. Buses and cars crawl along bumper to bumper, searching for the last remaining parking spot. Women dressed in their finest Easter attire parade by, creating a wonderful display of vibrant colors. Eager tandem passengers wait anxiously to be matched up with a pilot to make their first flight.

The festival is not only the perfect introduction to flying and traveling in Africa, but also a phenomenal insight into West African culture. One festival spectator, from Germany, said about her tandem flight, “My experience of flying tandem in Nkawkaw was one of the most overwhelming one in my life. I had been volunteering in Ghana for half a year when I first heard about the possibility of paragliding. I saw Eastern Regions beautiful landscape and the mountain passing below me and felt freer and happier than I could have imagined before. It was one of the most interesting and stunning experiences of my life!”

Moreover, attending the Ghana Paragliding Festival offers the perfect chance to fill that window of time while the ski season is coming to an end and the summer thermals are still weeks away. Just don’t forget to pack your dancing shoes!

For more information on how to attend the festival visit the official website at http://www.ghanaparagliding.com Hyperlink is also posted to the right.

Preparing for April of 2010

2009-11-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

Preparations are being made for the next Ghana Paragliding Festival, scheduled for April 2-5, 2010. After a break in the event last year because of the elections and new government in Ghana, we are now trying to get things geared up for the paragliding festival again this spring. I have had the good fortune and privilege to attend the “Ghana Paragliding and Hang Gliding Festival”, three separate times. Each time I’ve been to the event as a tandem pilot, giving rides to those interested in launching into the skies. This festival is like no other paragliding event in the world and every time I have been to Ghana, it has been a great and unique adventure. The hospitality shown by the people of Ghana and the Ministry of Tourism is wonderful. Hundreds of cheering spectators and live music filling the air create an exciting setting for flying that I look forward to all year long. There is no better way to spend Easter than with the people of Ghana and soaring the skies over Kwahu!

One of the goals of the festival this year includes taking more local community members on tandem flights. The small fee usually charged by the Ghana Tourism Board is too great a sum of money for most of the local population. A donation program has been established for this purpose and can be found at the official Ghana Paragliding Festival website at the hyperlink located to the right.

Paragliding and other adventures in Ghana

2008-06-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

We were invited to participate in the 2nd, 3rd & 4th Annual Ghana Paragliding Festivals held in April of 2006 & 2007 and March of 2008. This festival is hosted by the Ghanaian Ministry of Tourism. Eager to return, we were elated to be part of this event and visit the country for a third time. It was a great pleasure to share flight with the Ghanaians while gliding over the lush jungles of West Africa. The warm and hospitable people of Ghana are among the friendliest people in the world. Many thanks to Walter Neser for all his help and organizing the event. Posted here are some images from the 3 festivals and our other travels in Ghana.