Lord of the Wind kicked off with rider registration and a tamale cook off the evening of Wednesday, Jan 22 at the new community technology center, made possible and funded by the 2013 event. Riders gathered to find out the schedule for the week and take part in the first annual Lord of the Wind Tamale Cook Off involving 25 local chefs competing to claim the Tamale title. Local school children performed dances to the delight of the crowd of close to 400 people while attendees got to taste a variety of tamale creations. The benefit raised $1100 USD ($13000 pesos) for the Los Barriles primary school. Judges included returning Lord of the Wind champion Bryan Lake and event sponsor Felipe Valdez of Buenavista Hotel and Spa (pictured below) as well as the mayor of Los Barriles, the principal of the primary school and the president of the local PTA. The winner will be announced later today.
Felipe and Bryan getting their fill of tamales.
Besides racing, slalom, freestyle, hangtime and SUP competitions, participants can also demo all the new kiteboarding gear for free from Airush, Best, Cabrinha, Core, North and Slingshot from 12p to 4p daily Jan 23 through the 26. The KiteXpo demo area is located downwind of all the event activities in front of Exotkite Kiteboarding. Participants must be intermediate or better riders and sign a waiver/provide CC info for a wristband that will be good for the entire four days of the event.
Tonight’s party will be held at Buenavista Hotel and Spa which will premier the movie With a Kite, a documentary on the Triple S. Filmmaker Adam Boozer and Pro Rider Davey Blair will give a short presentation before the movie starts at 7p. Shuttle rides will be available starting at 5:30p in front of Hotel Los Barriles and will run every 15-20 minutes until 6:30p. Return shuttles will start after the movie is over. Food and drinks will be available during the event so come enjoy pulled pork sandwiches, cinema style nachos, shredded beef tostados, roasted potatoes with veggies and more while enjoying this special baja premier.
Lord of the Wind is a community fundraiser organized by the Rotary Club of Los Barriles. The 2013 raised enough funds for the Rotary Club to complete the Community Technology Center which houses 16 computers and printers available to residents of Los Barriles. So far, over 70,000 hours have been logged in the center over the last 10 months with more than 30,000 pieces of homework being printed by local kids from the elementary, middle and high schools. The center averages 30-50 kids per day accessing the computer lab and is open from 12p to 6p daily. For more information, see www.lordofthewindbaja.com
Best rider Rachel Callahan getting warmed up for the freestyle comp this weekend.
Naish rider Hope LeVin flew in from Turks and Caicos for the event.
Competitors Dylan Murphy and Exotikite instructor Justi Vonda check out their swag bag and event jerseys courtesy of sponsor Dakine.
Over 400 people gathered to kick off the start of the Lord of the Wind.