For many of us, the experience of kite-flying begins and ends in childhood. It is often a dismal memory of an outdoor family activity that began with high-flying hopes and ended with tangled string. Cheer up Charlie Brown; with today’s space-age technology, the days of torn paper and knotted string are long gone. And with The Berkeley Kite Festival coming up this weekend, now is the perfect time to test-drive a new model.
Every year since 1986, the Berkeley Kite Festival has been enchanting guests of all ages. Held at Cesar Chavez Park, the festival location is ideal since the bay provides the perfect winds for fliers of all levels, beginners and experts alike.
Hosted by Highline Kites, a quaint kite shop in the back of a truck (boasting to be the “tiniest solar-powered kite shop in the world”), the Berkeley Kite Festival sees roughly 15,000 to 25,000 guests over the course of two days. Tom McAlister, event chair and owner of Highline, is especially excited for this year’s festival because of its partnership with the North Berkeley Bart station for free parking and free shuttles to the festival site.
Being a kite newbie myself, I felt lost in the tiny store, faced with a rainbow assortment of kites in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Which is the kite that matches me? Luckily, I had the help of Tom McAlister, John Khan, Mike North, and Mark Quirmbach, all professional fliers and kite enthusiasts.
Khan and North are members of the Berkeley Kite Wranglers, a team of individuals with a passion for the giant creature kite genre. These are kites that don’t really look like traditional kites at all, but resemble Macy’s Day Parade balloons. They come in a variety of shapes, from puppies to cars. A favorite of the Wranglers is the octopus. Today, I’m starting with a lesser sea creature, a basic fish. With plenty of pulling and pushing of long rope, I feel like I’m setting a sail on a massive ship. By the time the fish is flying, I’ve worked up a small sweat. Staked safely to the ground, the fish takes a life all its own in the sky, swimming with two other fish and a yellow octopus. It seems the fun in having giant creature kites is to admire them and have others admire your work. Both Khan and North have packed lawn chairs, and sit to relax and chatter while other park guests play in the shadows of the sea critters.