PATCHOGUE, NY – OCTOBER 10, 2007 – In celebration of the history of kite making and flying, St. Joseph’s College is pleased to welcome kite expert, Charles Stewart, to talk to students on October 18, 2007. During his visit, Stewart will give a lecture on the history of kites from 8:00 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. and then again at 9:35 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., followed by a kite-making presentation scheduled for 12:40 p.m. in the John A. Danzi Athletic Center on the College’s Long Island Campus. This special event will coincide with a freshman reading assignment of the New York Times best-selling book The Kite Runner written by Afghan-American novelist Khaled Hosseini.

Charles Stewart began taking a serious interest in kites eleven years ago. A native of Flushing, New York, Stewart is an award winning kite flyer that teaches seminars to adults and children on kites, kite making and kite flying across the New York metropolitan area. A retired electronics technician from Northrop Grumman, Stewart travels with his wife to kite festivals all over the country to compete and teach workshops, with his most recent in Buffalo, New York for the Niagara International Kite Festival.

As part of his visit, Stewart will speak on the history of kites, the meaning of “kite fighting,” types of kites and the connection to the book “The Kite Runner.” He will also teach attendees how to make an “Eddy” kite, which will then be flown at the end of the session.

For more information about this event, please call Sister Suzanne Franck at (631) 447-3372 or visit www.sjcny.edu/calendar. St. Joseph’s College is located at 155 W. Roe Blvd. in Patchogue, and is accessible via the south service road of Sunrise Highway, just east of Exit 52 (Waverly Ave.).

About St. Joseph's College

St. Joseph’s College has been dedicated to providing a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. Independent and coeducational, the College provides a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual and spiritual values, social responsibility, and service. With campuses located in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn and in Patchogue, Suffolk, Long Island, the College offers degrees in over 22 majors, special course offerings and certificates, affiliated and pre-professional programs through its School of Arts and Sciences and its School of Professional and Graduate Studies.