One of the events during the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC is the annual Blossom Kite Festival. This festival, formerly the Smithsonian Kite Festival, brings out hundreds of kite enthusiasts and competitors each Spring. This year 36 classes were available for both amateurs and professionals to compete in. Held on the National Mall, the grounds of the Washington Monument make for a great place to go fly a kite.
The experts were using all their skills to keep their kites aloft during the morning demos since there was almost no wind blowing. I was amazed that they could fly at all let alone perform tricks. They were able to produce a kite ballet when everyone else was still praying for the wind.
The warm Spring sun soon began to create a gentle breeze and up went the kites. Hundreds of brightly colored kites rose into the sky. It was a magical feeling to see such a wonderful sight.
The kites at the Blossom Kite Festival come in all shapes and sizes. All types of themes were in the air. We saw flying dragons, scuba divers chasing fish from a “Kite Aquarium”, turtles, superheroes, planes, butterflies, and the list goes on. Kites were flown on single lines, dual lines, quad lines, and more. Just about every kind of kite was in Washington, DC for the festival.
The crowds are huge and riding Metro is still your best bet when visiting but it is worth it. Just hope that the wind is better for next year’s event.