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Thursday, May 25, 2023

Photos: Redwood Coast Kite Festival and Artisan Fair

Posted By Mark Larson on Thu, May 25, 2023 at 11:27 AM

The winds and weather were a bit fickle at the second annual Redwood Coast Kite Festival and Artisan Fair last Saturday and Sunday at Halvorsen Park in Eureka, but Humboldt Kiter organizer Mark Ahrens called the festival a success in every way. Saturday featured early morning drizzle and swirling winds but a large number of kite-flying fans attended, while Sunday had steadier winds, clearer skies and another large crowd. (See slideshow below for highlights.)

click to enlarge

The festival team's airfoil kite takes flight. - PHOTO BY MARK LARSON

Photo by Mark Larson
The festival team's airfoil kite takes flight.

The family-friendly event featured a tent with kite-making materials (which ran out early on Sunday). The family/public flying field featured a blur of kites, tangled strings and kite flyers of all ages trying out their flying skills. The demonstration field was busy each day with quad- and dual-line kite performances, and attendees were invited to join an expert flying these kites.

Just east the Samoa Bridge and several food trucks doing steady business, a number of giant kites took to the air, including a trilobite, fish, a couple of dragons and a whale shark.

Late afternoon on Sunday, I watched 12 performance quad-line kite flyers perform an amazing mega-fly, with their kites dancing across the sky in synchronized maneuvers. The day ended with the Kids Candy Drop, but the increasing wind proved to be a challenge for the airfoil kite and eventually organizers used a still-popular kids candy toss.

Visit the Humboldt Kiters website for details on where you can see Kites as Art installations by artists and galleries associated with the Ink People in Eureka.