Fly Birdy Fly

Over the hills and through the streets, kite-flying fanatics went to Arvada’s 10th Annual Kite Festival on April 14 to take kites to the air for fun and competition. On the beautiful spring day, hundreds of kites of all sizes—some the size of a newspaper and some the size of the broad side of a barn—reached into the sky to show off their shapes and colors with the help of Mother Nature.

April is National Kite Month and with a little bit of spring cleaning, kites of all types get dusted off, strung up, and pulled up by physics—with wind blowing in the direction of the kite and somewhat underneath it, creating lift. This out of hibernation leads to events like Arvada’s 10th Annual Kite Festival, which took place this year in an uninhibited, treeless open space at Robby Ferrufino Park.

Upon entrance to the park, there was commotion and activity. Kite-flyers frolicked around—surprisingly untangled with each other—with smiles and laugher. If the ground at the park was loose and attached to the feet of the hundreds of kite flying participants, then the massive quantity of kites would’ve pulled the entire field into the sky.

Kite enthusiasts of all temperaments—kids and kids at heart—happily entered the kite competition judged by the keen eyes from the Foothills Kite Club. The judging was based on the smallest, largest, highest, and most visually appealing of all the kites. In a partitioned football-field-sized piece of grass, participants of the competition showed off their kites with pride and exuberance. The top four winners in each category carried home trophies with awards going to participants in two age categories: 10 years old and younger and 11 years old and older.

Not all of the kites were the same: some flew with characteristics and abilities that other kites didn’t have. A fighter kite is usually small and flat with an unstable single line. Tension alone is used for control, which allows it to do things that no other type of kite can do. Even in the lightest of winds it can render observers speechless, not only by hanging about in the air, but also by whipping itself into figure eights, dives, twists, and salsa dances far up in the sky.

A sled kite has a more complex U shape than a flat fighter kite. Sled kites have two straight spars—the sticks or inflatable pockets which hold the kite’s shape in opposition to the wind, made of tubular plastic, bamboo, or aluminum—running the length of the kite where the kite bends into its U-shape. Tails hang from the bottom end of each spar for added stability and are especially effective in correcting the kite’s lateral flight.

The delta kite is most commonly recommended to beginner kite-flyers because it is easy to launch, flies on the lightest of breezes, and more or less consistently sits at an eye-catching, steep line angle. A delta kite has a towing point that sits more toward the nose of the kite because of its extreme flight angle. Its shape is usually bat-like with long tails like a phoenix that are free flowing and flap around behind it.

The Arvada’s Annual Kite Festival flies around this time every spring for one day only and is free for everyone who goes—except for the cost of a kite, of course. An event like this is just the spoonful of sugar that can cure the indoor boredom blues of winter.