“I’m so excited! I’m so excited! I’ve never ever been so excited!”
These were the screaming words of one little girl and the sentiments of many Berkeley locals Saturday as they exited a 51B bus at the Berkeley Marina to see an array of colorful, floating objects fill the sky at the 28th Annual Berkeley Kite Festival.
The two-day festival has become a tradition for many people, including Susan and Darrin Skinner, who are founders of the Bay Area Sport Kite League. They have been attending the festival since its inception in 1986, when Darrin Skinner competed in a kite competition for the first time and won. Now, his wife, Susan, is in charge of running the competition part of the festival every year.
“This is one of the bigger kite festivals in the U.S.,” Darrin said. “There are probably only half a dozen or so other ones like it.”
One unique attraction of the Berkeley Kite Festival is the “octopile” display, a setup of several octopus kites that are about 90 feet tall each and cost between $3,500 and $5,000. The large, vibrant octopus kites seem as if they are swimming through the sky with elegant synchronization and rhythm.
Another festival tradition, a favorite among children, is the candy drop. In this event, a large amount of candy is sent up in a kite and dropped from a great height. All the children then run and gather as much candy as they can.
Andrea Gutierrez, a senior at UC Berkeley, described the candy drop as her favorite event.
“Seeing the kids scurrying to gather candy took me back to my childhood,” Gutierrez said. “It reminded me of a big piñata.”
The festival also included kite competitions, kite-making, music and several food vendors. While some participants preferred a hands-on approach and waited in line to learn how to fly both dual-line kites and the more challenging quad-line kites, others enjoyed watching experienced kite-fliers as they competed.
Eager children and equally excited adults, such as Sharon Tsai, a third-year Taiwanese exchange student at UC Berkeley, gathered around craft tables to make their own personalized kites.
The event offered entertainment and activities aside from the kites. Castle Yen, also a third-year Taiwanese exchange student at UC Berkeley, said, “The music and food was my favorite part — the Mexican tacos.”
The Skinners say that participating in the festival for more than 20 years has provided them with not only a hobby but also a friendly and diverse social circle.
“Kiting is its own little world … it’s a wonderful community for really nice people from all walks of life,” Darrin said. “Economically, it’s easy to get into. Physically, it’s easy to do. It’s what you want to put into it.”
“I came to the festival last year, and loved it,” said Sucheta Salgaonkar, a UC Berkeley student. “I had to come back again. I can’t wait to come back with my own children someday.”
Contact Saachi Makkar at smakkar@dailycal.org.
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