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Thousands attend city's 35th annual Kite Festival

THUNDER BAY – Warm temperatures, clear skies and breezy winds make a perfect day for kite flying. That was the case for thousands of people, who attended the city’s 35th annual Kite Festival at Chippewa Park on Sunday.
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People of all ages attended the city's 35th annual Kite Festival, which was held on Sunday at Chippewa Park. (Matt Vis, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY – Warm temperatures, clear skies and breezy winds make a perfect day for kite flying.

That was the case for thousands of people, who attended the city’s 35th annual Kite Festival at Chippewa Park on Sunday.

Event supervisor Doug Henry said the ideal conditions should result in an attendance of more than 4,000 people.

“Kite festivals happen all over the world,” Henry said. “It’s a great tradition for Thunder Bay…It’s a chance to come out to enjoy this beautiful park and fly kites. It’s fun to do.”

Organizers invited members of kite flying clubs from southern Ontario to come up and show off some of their most extravagant kites.

Kerry St. Dennis made the trip from Guelph with two of the most distinctive kites in the sky, a giant blue octopus and his Canadian Heroes creation.

He has purchased some of his kites, like the octopus which cost about $5,000 and built others, like Canadian Heroes which took more than a year.

 

Lisa McLean was visiting the kite festival for the first time and she went along with her husband, stepson and two sons.

“I think it’s great. It’s been a beautiful windy day,” she said. “They got to fly two kites and they’ve been really amazed by the whale and giant octopus. They’ve been having a lot of fun.”

Other activities included kite making workshops, live music, face painting, inflatable bouncy castles, rocket launchers, human hamster balls and multiple food vendors.

The festival is traditionally the first major summertime event hosted by the city.





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