Smithsonian Kite Festival
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Smithsonian Kite Festival | |
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| Established | 1967 |
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| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Type | Public event |
| Public transit access | Smithsonian (Washington Metro) |
| Website | http://www.kitefestival.org |
The Smithsonian Kite Festival is an annual kite event held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. at the end of March. It celeberates the arrival of spring in the US capital, and marks the beginning of the cherry blossom around the Mall.
The Festival is organized by The Smithsonian Associates, the cultural, educational, and membership division of the Smithsonian Institution. It was founded in 1967 by aviation pioneer Paul E. Garber, also founder of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM).
The 42nd Smithsonian Kite Festival was held on Saturday, Mar 29, 2008. The competition site was under the Washington Monument. This year, the Smithsonian Kite Festival chose China as the theme of the Festival. A master kitemaker from China was specially invited to showcase the beauty of traditional Chinese kite. A magnificent dragon kite that measures 60 yard was flown.
The Smithsonian Kite Festival features a kitemaking competition that is open to any hand-made kite. Kite experts from both local and national kite clubs judge the competing kites based on the design, crafting, and flight, and give each kite a score. Kites with high scores win awards in many categories. Kitemaker are also grouped according to experience and age: kitemaker, master kitemaker, Age 11 and under, Age 12-15.
Other events on the Festival include the Rokkaku battle, Hot Tricks Showdown, and Ground Display.
Many people come to the Smithsonian Kite Festival not only to watch the competitions, but also to fly their own kites.
Two-weeks preceding the Festival, NASM also organizes a Kite Day that allows children to make their own kites, which may be later entered in the competition during the Kite Festival.
