News

 

We’re on a roll now … the weather has been ideal and so have our first three weeks at KBIA. If you have been to KBIA recently, you know what we mean. It’s your beaming child who takes a confident bow onstage at drama. It’s your grandson who, once scared of the water, has proudly learned to paddleboard. It’s your teen gaining confidence “in the real world,” thanks to our hands-on Counselor-in-Training program. It’s your child who is now smitten by seals after taking one of our field trips! Thanks to some great offerings led by the best instructors around, our children are making connections and already coming full circle. If you haven’t been to KBIA this summer to see for yourself, what are you waiting for?

 

 

Help us make a splash this Friday

Swim-a-Thon donations will benefit scholarships

 
Swim … and help KBIA in its quest to continue giving scholarships for years to come! Kids can help make this happen on Friday as part of KBIA’s Swim-a-Thon . Our children and CITs raise money by asking for pledges or flat donations for swimming lengths* of the pool. They can do this during their regular swim classes on Friday, July 18, or during a special swim time at2:30 PM Friday. Collect your money based on the lengths you swim and bring it to the office at the watersports/awards on Saturday. Money raised will be used to fund the scholarship program at KBIA.

 

 

You’re invited …

Pool party is up for auction at Seaside Celebration

 
Please join us at KBIA this Saturday, July 19, for the first of our two annual get-togethers. The July BBQ and Awards Ceremony will kick off with assorted watersports in the pool for various ages:

9:00 AM:  3- to 4-year-olds
9:30 AM:  5- to 6-year-olds
10:00 AM: 7- to 8-year-olds
10:30 AM: 9 and older
11:00 AM: Free swim for all ages
11:30 AM: Diving exhibition, followed by Water Polo exhibition

At 12 PM, KBIA volunteers will serve up a barbecue lunch (hot dogs and hamburgers, lemonade, iced tea, chips and cake.) Cost is $6.

At 1 PM, we will begin the awards portion of the day, handing out various KBIA “wedges” and traditional KBIA honors. Be sure to check next week’s e-newsletter for a list of the winners!

From 6 to 8 PM, please join us on the KBIA lawn for our seventh annual Seaside Celebration. In addition to cocktails and light hors d’oeuvres for our 21+ member families, we will be auctioning off a KBIA parking spot, as well as — new this year — a pool party! If you can’t make it Saturday night (and we sure hope you can!) we will even accept bids by email. We kindly ask you RSVP by Wednesday, July 16.

 

 

 

Welcome home

Help Reid’s Ride mark 10 years

 
YOU are invited to join the Sacco family in celebrating the 10th annual Reid’s Ride next week. Lorraine and Gene, alongside friends and family, will start their bike ride this Sunday in Massachusetts and finish the route Monday at KBIA. All are welcome to ride the final third leg of the route, approximately 42 miles (Rye Beach, NH to the Burkhard Family Estate). That afternoon, on July 21, KBIA will host a barbecue, complete with eats and treats from Reid’s Ride sponsors and participants, for Team KBIA.  Reid’s Ride honors Reid Sacco, a KBIA counselor who lost his battle to cancer in 2005.
 
To join in the fun, please register today!

 

 

CITs to take on the ropes course

All teens welcome July 22

 

Calling all teens who has been or will be a KBIA CIT this summer! On Tuesday, July 22, our CITs will head out for a day on the Ropes Challenge Course at the Sweetser campus in Saco.The main focus for this annual offering is developing leadership skills, communication, motivation by relying on each other — then applying it to their Counselor in Training course. They will be using both the high- and low-ropes course.

Teens should meet at 9 AM by the steps of Strong Cottage at KBIA, where they will return for pickup by 4 PM. Interested participants may sign up in the office or by emailing CIT Coordinator Maureen McEnaney.

 

 

This week at KBIA

 

TWEEN NIGHT: Pool Party, 6 to 8 PM Tuesday. $24.

 

MOVIE NIGHT: SOLD OUT “Tarzan” 7 to 9 PM Wednesday at Smith House. $7.

 

TEEN NIGHT: Funtown, Saco. 5:30 to 9ish PM Thursday. $24.

 

COVE WALK: 12 to 2 PM Sunday, July 20, meeting at the steps of Strong Cottage at KBIA. $10 per family; open to the public.

*please pre-register for all events at the office so we may accurately plan for tickets and transportation.

www.kbia.net  / KBIA facebook

 

Now in our third week, we’ve have had a busy beginning to our 104th season at the Beach! As we look back at Sunday’s “Day at the Beach” Road Race and look ahead to Friday’s KBIA Swim Meet, we also continue to offer more than 55 amazing opportunities to learn and/or practice kids’ favorite hobbies and educational interests. We aim to please all ages and interests at KBIA. Please read on to find something that interests you, and then jump in! See you soon.

 

 

23 years and running of “A Day at the Beach”

 

Following Sunday’s “Day at the Beach” 1K and 5K road races, you could say we’re still on a runner’s high! It was a brilliant day for the 23rd running of our annual race, and the cool but sunny day could not have been better for “A Day at the Beach.” This year we hosted a total of 286 runners, with 65 kids in the 1K fun run and 221 runners in the 5K race.

 

Congratulations to Bobby Turner, the overall boys 1K winner, and Caitlin Wiseman, the overall girls 1K winner. In the 5K race, Miles Courteny of Portland crossed the finish line first with a time of 17:54; 14-year-old Martha MacDonald of Toronto was first in the women’s division, clocking in at 20:00. Check them out in action, along with pics from just about every runner, on KBIA’s facebook page!

 

Many thanks to all who turned out to make this a great day of community, and many thanks to our volunteers in the yellow shirts who kept everything running smoothly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flying the Grand Ol’ Flag

KBIA uses a yacht club flagpole

 

With pride, we fly our colors every day: the American flag, the Canadian flag for our visiting friends, the State of Maine flag and even the KBIA burgee. 

 

KBIA has a “yacht club flagpole,” different from a traditional flagpole, so that means the American flag flies as it would on a ship. Consistent with U.S. flag etiquette, the national ensign flies on the gaff, which represents the stern of a boat and the position of command.

 

 

 

 

 

The pool is the place to be for parents (and grandparents … or anyone over age 15) for some summer swimming. Our pool is open weekday mornings from 7 to 8 AM to adults for morning lap swim. Fee is $50 a week or $200 for the summer.

 

 

 

Missing a headband, goggles or that special lunchbox? You might want to check our gray box located outside of Smith House, which is the smaller of our two buildings.

 

 

 

 

You’re Invited!

 

Please join us from 6 to 8 PM Saturday, July 19, for our annual Seaside Celebration at KBIA. Our traditional cocktail party for adults is our traditional night to kick back with old friends and meet new faces, all in our spectacular setting by the sea. Please RSVP by July 14.

 

 

 

TWEEN NIGHT: Funtown, Saco. 5:30 to 8:30 PM Tuesday. $24.

MOVIE NIGHT: “The Emperor’s New Groove” at Smith House, 7 to 9 PM Thursday. $7. Limited to the first 50 children, and as of 12 PM today, MOVIE NIGHT IS NOW FULL.

 

 

 

 

www.kbia.net  / KBIA facebook

… From sea to shining sea. Being where we are, on the shining sea in Maine, we take our responsibilities very seriously to celebrate Independence Day in style. We will hold our traditional boat parade, and in the spirit of making the most of the season, we will hold classes as usual on Friday, July 4. At day’s end, we invite you to stay at the beach for fireworks at dusk, roughly 9:15 PM. The fireworks are set off between Gooch’s and Middle beaches, and they look great from Mother’s Beach and the KBIA area as well! Happy Independence Day from all of us at KBIA.

 

 

 

American pride on parade
  

To celebrate Independence Day in our own unique fashion, Nils and our Waterfront Staff will be decking out our fleet and leading a boat parade around the Cove and over by Mother’s Beach, as conditions permit. From the Cove, our “Gollywobblers” class (ages 7 and older) will lead the parade.

 

Start time will be determined this week (watch our website andFacebook). All KBIA family and friends are invited to bring their own boats and join in the fun — or simply enjoy the “parade” from shore.

 

 

We are gearing up for this Sunday’s 23rd annual “Day at the Beach” 5K and 1K Kids Fun Run. Won’t you join us? Online registration is open through Friday, and runners will also be able to register that morning. We have free tech t-shirts for the first 150 registered participants, and we also have a limited supply of women’s cut race shirts this year! Also new this year, we are pleased to utilize chip timing for more accurate race times. The start and finish line is on Lord’s Point Road, and the course winds though the picturesque neighborhoods around the beach, finishing along Ocean Avenue and the sparkling Atlantic. 

 

 

To successfully execute this community race, we will need a host of volunteers. We will need help registering runners and answering questions as well as helping out on the roads and in the runners chute at the finish line. The first 25 volunteers will get a free gold “volunteer” tech shirt as our thank you to you. We can’t do it without you. No experience is necessary. Please email Maureen McEnaney to volunteer!

 

 

  

Just another perk of membership: 
open swims!

 

Twice a day we open up the pool for supervised open swims. All children ages 4 and older, enrolled in other KBIA classes that week, may participate. Please join us between 12 and 12:30 PM and then again between 3:30 and 4 PM Monday through Friday.

  

 

Parking, pick-ups and drop-offs

 

Please help us keep KBIA safe for everyone and stay with your vehicles in the designated pick-up and drop-off zone in front of the pool. It iscrucial to stay within the white paint — there is no spot before and after the crosswalk to the playground to enhance visibility of kids crossing the street. The drop-off/pick-up zone is also for emergency vehicles, so drivers must remain with their cars at all times. Kennebunk police have and will continue to ticket both areas. We appreciate your cooperation in helping us move traffic along in that busy section! 

 

If you want to park your car and walk your child to their class, please find a designated spot at the beach (with a Town of Kennebunk beach sticker) or along Ridge Avenue or another side street.

  

When dropping off your child, please advise the instructor who will pick him/her up. If a child arrives on his/her own, we will release the child on his/her own at the end of class. For bundled classes, please speak with our Bundle Counselor to make arrangements.

 

 

You’re never fully dressed without 
a … KBIA hat!

And our store has 
so much more!

 

Come visit Katherine and friends in our KBIA store, located just across from the office in Strong Cottage and open during office hours. Our new KBIA hats (as modeled by Katherine) feature the KBIA burgee and sell for $16. Need a sweatshirt? We have lots! How about a copy of Tony’s new book? We have both stories in stock. Watch for some new oval car magnets coming this week!

 

 

Got bathrooms? 
(or just a changing room?)

 

Need a bathroom break? Two public restrooms are located behind Smith House. If all you need is a place to change into your bathing suit, please use one of the four family-sized changing rooms located in the back of the white Adventures Tent.  

 

 

This week at KBIA

 

MOVIE NIGHT: “Wall-E“ at Smith House, 7 to 9 PM Wednesday. $7.

 

 

 

* Please preregister for all events at the office.

KBIA is once again alive with the sound of children laughing, squealing, singing, splashing and enjoying summer! On this Opening Day 2014 — our 104th season at Mother’s Beach — it’s music to our ears. We invite you to stop by and soak in the sights and sounds of a summer “the way it should be”!

 

 

This week at KBIA

TWEEN NIGHT: Pool Party & Pizza, 6 to 8 PM Tuesday, at the KBIA pool. $24.

MOVIE NIGHT: “Rio 1,” 7 to 9 PM Wednesday. $7.

 

 

 

Mark your calendars

 

 

Season Opening Day…………………………………………………………………… June 23

Boat Parade……………………………………………………………………………… July 4

Annual KBIA Membership Meeting………………………………………………….. August 16

  

 

Run for fun in our ‘Day at the Beach’ 5K

 

Registration is now open (and free tech t-shirts are still available!) for our 23rd annual “A Day at the Beach” 5K Road Race and 1K Kids Fun Run on Sunday morning, July 6. Runners may registeronline or at the office. 

 

Explore the Cove on guided walk

 

At high tide, the Cove at KBIA provides just enough water to swim, sail and explore the waters wih a paddle. It’s a whole new world at low tide, however, where snails, crabs and other creaturescan be found. Come explore the majestic Cove at low tide on a guided walk during low tide and see all the natural treasures you can find!

 

 

Cost is $10 per family; please register at the office prior to the walk. This family activity is open to the public, so please invite your friends and neighbors and help us spread the word.

 

 

 

KBIA friends launch matching program for scholarships  

 

Scholarships are key to the mission of KBIA: to provide safe, supportive and exciting Summers of Discovery for children and their families, among others.

 

As a fitting finale to our 100th Capital Campaign, we have launched a matching program for our endowment fund that helps us support scholarships. From now until the end of summer, every new $2 given to KBIA will be matched by $1, generously funded by friends of KBIA. This anonymous group has donated $41,667 (WOW!), so we have the potential to collectively raise $125,000 –– all to help kids in this community for many, many Summers of Discovery to come.

 

Pledges can be made now and paid by the end of the calendar year. KBIA’s endowment fund is now managed by a professional firm under the direction of the Board of Directors’ Endowment Committee, and this year KBIA will offer $32,000 in scholarships to local children.

 

We will be asking all members, supporters and friends of KBIA to dig deep and support the 100th Capital Campaign in its final year so we can ensure the opportunity is available to all children for many summers to come.

 

 

 

Check out our Registration Guide for 2014 

 

If our 2014 Registration Guide hasn’t reached your mailbox yet, it’s on its way! The 28-page book is full of class information and schedules, as well as the dates for this summer’s Cove Walks, Open Sailing/Kayaking weekends, 5K/1K Road Race, Reid Sacco Family Regatta and even a MIRC sailing competition. We’ve also included a map of the KBIA campus, below.

 

Learn all about our new offerings — Junior Water Safety Instruction, golf offerings, Wearable Art, Portraiture and Junior Scientist — and find the schedules for all your usual KBIA favorites as well. Class descriptions, as well as a digital version of the Registration Guide, is available online. We also list class schedules by age. 

 

Need a copy for a friend? (They can attend Week 1, June 24-28, with no membership fee.) We are happy to send them one; just let us know. We appreciate you helping us spread the good word! 

 

 

 

 

KBIA Countdown:

72 days until summer

 

KBIA opens for its 104^th season on June 23, and below are some other dates to remember this summer:

 

June 16: KBIA Office opens

July 6:    KBIA 23rd annual Day at the Beach 5K/1K Road Race

July 19:  July Watersports, Awards & BBQ

July 19:  KBIA Seaside Celebration

Aug. 10: Fifth annual Reid Sacco Family Regatta

Aug. 16: August Watersports, Awards & BBQ