Where: Southsea Common, Southsea, Hampshire
£: Free
What is it?
The Portsmouth International Kite Festival is celebrating its 21st birthday this year on August 25th, 26th and 27th at Southsea Common, Portsmouth. Jointly organised by Portsmouth City Council and The Kite Society of Great Britain it promises to be more spectacular than ever with over a hundred invited kite fliers from four continents travelling to the event.
The event has a marvellous setting on Southsea common overlooking the Solent and the location offers wide open spaces and good winds which allows kites fliers to show off their creations at their best. They have kite fliers from as far afield as Singapore, Kuwait, Australia and New Zealand. This year’s festival is spotlighting the Edo kite – a kite originally developed in Tokyo (Edo), Japan in the 17th Century.
As well as seeing these spectacular kites fly there will be the chance to see them close up and admire their artistry in the exhibition area. Another highlight of this year’s event is the first time visit from Cerf Volant Folie (Kite Team Follie) from France. This is a 12 person Sports Kite team of which two sub‐teams exist flying dual line kites choreographed to music. All guests will put on colourful demonstrations of kites including swarms of snakes, frogs, lizards, whales, jesters, fish, salamanders and much more. The range of kites includes single line kites ‐ intricately appliquéd or painted with magnificent designs, cellular kites – flying miracles of structural engineering, awe inspiring 3D soft kites in a magical range of shapes and sizes and skilfully flown kites performing excellent tricks and routines to music.
Alongside this amazing flying display there will be a host of other activities to meet a family’s needs. These will include a craft tent, free children’s kite workshop and a fun fair along with local amusements. Also located on the common will be dedicated kite traders who will be able to provide you with a wide range of kites, from colourful branded kites for children or the young at heart to immense power kites for the more adventurous. Also worth visiting is the Wind Gallery featuring Aeolian instruments which use the wind to produce beautiful sounds and music.
More info: www.portsmouthkitefestival.org.uk