Kite Festival
Well, it has been two months since LennsFest Events came to Austin and we are excited to say that we are now officially a Texas LLC! Not only do we love creating and running events for our clients, but we also have a ton of fun attending other events, and there is no better place than Austin. Yesterday morning, we happened upon a notice about a kite festival in Zilker Park, so we hopped in the car and made our way to the beautiful green oasis in the south part of the city.
Never having been to a kite festival before, we were not quite sure what to expect (other than people flying kites, obviously). As we parked the car and started walking into the heart of Zilker Park, I was picturing the end of Mary Poppins with a group of people in a small area of the park flying their kites, all the while singing “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” in my head. When we got to the “Kite Contest Field” we could not believe our eyes! This was no small musical number. Exhibitor booths, inflatable games and food trucks framed a field littered with thousands of people, dogs and especially kites—and what a perfect day to fly a kite! Temperatures in the mid-70s, an overcast sky and a continuous breeze.
We walked through the sea of colorful gliders, trying to be careful of getting clotheslined by unseen strings or dive bombed by kites that couldn’t quite hold on. Across the large field and up a slight hill was a roped off area reserved for the contestants. That’s right, this was not just a leisurely festival. There were trophies involved!
A registration table enabled participants to submit entries for several categories including largest kite, most unusual kite, oldest and youngest kite fliers and highest angle kite, among others.
A small introduction ceremony informed us that this was the 88th annual kite festival with a long history of benefitting the children of Austin. Boy Scouts presented the colors for the 50th consecutive year and the national anthem played over the speakers before the official competition got underway.
It was great to see so many people, from the young to the young at heart enjoying the afternoon with their loved ones. Some of the exhibitor booths like HEB were even making kites on-site so that all who wanted to could be included in the spirit of the festival. Our personal favorites of the day were the giant panda kite, and the adorable puppy who was transformed into a butterfly! Well done by all, from the organizers to the sponsors to the participants. This is certainly an event that we will share with people and encourage to attend for years to come.
