OCEAN CITY — Residents and visitors are invited to see the skyline of Ocean City explode with color at this weekend’s Sunfest Kite Festival, which kicked off yesterday and runs through Sunday, Sept. 21 on the Boardwalk.
The world-class is celebrating its 37th year. All are welcome to witness and participate in general kite flying, kite flying games, Bol races, candy drops, sport kite demonstrations and just plain kite spectating. Best part of all is it’s free.
Of the many activities planned over the course of the four-day kite festival, it is the “Mass Ascensions” which pack Ocean City’s famous Boardwalk with spectators. During the daily mass ascensions, visitors and kite flyers alike gather on the beach at 6th Street and on cue, launch their kites.
This year organizers will be hosting a “Kids Kite Fly”. At 1 p.m. on Saturday, free kites will be handed out to the first 60 kids who show up. Only kids between the ages of 5 to 12 are eligible for the free kite. Kids will be helped with assembling them and then can launch the kite right on the beach at 5th Street. All local families and visitors alike are invited to come to The Kite Loft around 12:30 p.m. to get started and get ready to paint the sky.
Another great event taking place on Saturday is the Vintage Kite Fly. Kites 20 years or older will be flown in this event. Since kiting started over 5,000 years ago, organizers are excited to see just what comes out of the archives.
Also featured this year will be a Giant Kite Air Extravaganza put on by regional flyers. One of the giant kites showcased this year will be the flight of Toothless, from the “How to Train Your Dragon” movie. It’s guaranteed to be a huge hit. Mel, the 100-foot giant blue whale, will be swimming the Ocean City skies once again. Both kites will be flown by Jeff and Joyce King of Annapolis. Many other giant kites will be featured as well.
In addition, there will be quad line demos throughout the festival. Quad kites are four line kites flown in formation, much like the Thunderbirds. Several times during the festival there will be as many as 16 quad flyers standing side by side, flying to music, all in perfect formation.
Mike Van Meers, from Gaithersburg, Md., festival coordinator, will be directing all activities on the beach so get ready to have tons of fun.
This is a don’t miss event for young and old alike. Bring your kite, camera and beach blanket, pray for wind and have a spectacular time.