The S.B. Kite Festival

The 37th Santa Barbara Kite Festival Returns 11am-4pm Sunday, April 16th 2023

The theme and date has been announced for the 2023 Santa Barbara Kite Festival. The theme of this year’s family-friendly kite festival  is “Colors”. The 37th Santa Barbara Kite Festival will color the skies over the Great Meadow from 11am-4pm Sunday April 16^th on the west campus lawn at  Santa Barbara City College.

Festival Kite Master Rakesh Bahadur and Festival Director David Hefferman chose this year’s theme to celebrate the contributions and beauty festival goers bring to the event each year. Rakesh noted “It’s always amazing to us how many colors are added to the sky by entire families of kite flyers. Everyone is welcome.” David added “It’s our 37^th festival. Several local festivals are of a similar age. We are honored to add more color this year to the legacy of festivals in our community.”

Sure to generate more colors and laughter this April 16th, the “Childrens’ Tail Chase” features groups of kids divided into various age groups, chasing and trying to capture the tail of a kite expertly flown by Mr. Bahadur. The festival’s busy schedule is also packed with a number of family-friendly kite contests including “Most Beautiful” (handmade & commercial), “Highest Flying”, “Largest & Smallest Kites”, ”Youngest & Oldest Kite Flyers”, “Most Unique Or Unusual Kite”, “Funniest Kite”, and “Most Unflyable Kite”! And, the kite festival now awards “Best of Fest” -recognizing the best overall kite entry and participant of the day. Finally, the “Lions Award”, created in the memory of local legend Chad Dreier and his loving family-long time supporters of the festival , will be awarded to the person who makes the greatest contribution to the success of this year’s event. The festival is held each year in the “Great Meadow” on the west campus of Santa Barbara City College, 973 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara, Ca 93109. Admission to the festival is free. Parking is available on both west campus and the main campus. Kites, food, and beverages can be purchased at the event.

April is officially dubbed “Kite Month” in Santa Barbara, thanks to a 2007 proclamation by the Santa Barbara City Council. The Santa Barbara Kite Festival has also been recognized by the city for its annual contributions to community recreation and family fun.  Santa Barbara’s kite month of April is promoted in coordination with the National Kite Month of April – co-founded by the American Kite Flyers Association and the Kite Trade Association International .

For more info, visit our website at www.sbkitefest.net and our facebook page/santabarbarakitefestival. For info about National Kite Month go to www.nationalkitemonth.org, and www.kite.org.  ###