Prior to this weekend, the idea of hundreds of adults getting together to fly kites simply didn't trip my trigger. However, encouraged by a picture in the South Beach Bulletin, we packed up Baby and headed to Grayland Beach, which for those who've never heard of it, is about 5 minutes south of Westport, for the Annual Grayland Windriders Kite Festival.
And oh my goodness, if you have never seen a thousand kites flying in a beautiful blue sky, it is quite a sight. Kite enthusiasts take these festivals very seriously, staking out their areas with personalized "colors" that display the names of each person in their group. They had areas for novices, "kite acrobatics", and kite fighting. "Kite Ballet" set to music was almost as fascinating (sans the loud engines) as the Seafair Blue Angels. Baby was highly entertained by the various flags and balloon like wind socks that dotted the beach.
The weather started out overcast in the morning - a typical day at the beach, but by noon on both days, it was downright warm, high 60's at least, and warm enough for the water to be full of kids and adults playing and fishing in the surf.
So, as I understand it, these kinds of kite festivals are held all year long, from Bellingham, WA to Lincoln City, OR. The big mama of Kite Festivals is held in Long Beach, WA, every year. All are spectacular to see, the nice thing about this local festival is that its big enough to be worth attending, but small enough that you can attend without fighting traffic and getting lost in the crowds. It's one of the best small town festivals I've attending recently.
The Windriders Kite Festival is sponsored by the local Kite Flying community and local merchants in the South Beach area, and definitely worth a trip down to the beach next summer.
And now, the mommy in me will end with the obligatory picture of baby with kite.
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