Hundreds Of Families Take The Advice To 'Go Fly A Kite'
ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) - The weather was just about perfect Sunday morning for flying a kite, which worked out nicely for hundreds of families who attended the annual Arvada Kite Festival.
"It's great weather for a kite," said Brenda Berg, Special Events Coordinator for the Arvada Kite Festival. "It's fun, relaxing and fits everybody whether you're a little kid or adult."
The annual event at the Stenger Sports Complex attracts thousands of kite enthusiasts, including 9-year-old Pierce Benard.
"I like seeing something that normally wouldn't be in the sky, like for example, a pizza," he said pointing to his pizza kite.
Pierce learned how to fly a kite from his dad and is now teaching his younger brother, Branton, how to navigate the ups and downs.
"You have to step back and pull it so it cannot go down," 5-year-old Branton told CBS4's Kelly Werthmann as he tugged on the strings of his parrot kite.
With more than 70 different vendors, games, and fun for all ages, the free festival has been a popular event in Arvada for 14 years.
"It's just a great time to be outside and kick off the spring season," Berg said. "We want the kids outside playing and enjoying the outdoors instead of the indoors."
Arvada's kite festival also features professional kite flyers, like Robin McClacken. He has flown kites nearly all his life and is sharing that passion with others.
"I've just been fascinated with flight all my life," McClacken said. "There's a Zen, a calmness, a focus on the wind and just the elements of the outdoors. You can fly a kite at any age or anytime of the year, although April is National Kite Month."
McClacken said he enjoys seeing so many kites take to the skies in Arvada, but does worry about competing for air space as drones become more widely used.
"We're getting into a time when air space is becoming more competitive because we have so many drones in use and big delivery companies are talking about using drones soon," he said. "We want to make sure we still have air space for kite flying. Nobody thinks about kites, but later down the line there's a good possibility it's going to get too crowded in the sky."
Yet on Sunday afternoon, the only crowding to worry about was tangling kite strings as eyes were transfixed on the brilliant colors and shapes soaring above.
"It's just so awesome," Berg said.
Kelly Werthmann joined the CBS4 team in 2012 as the morning reporter, covering national stories like the Aurora Theater Shooting and devastating Colorado wildfires. She now anchors CBS4 Weekend Morning News and reports during the week. Connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @KellyCBS4.
