Our Favorite Asian
Kite Festivals
Everywhere you go in Asia is incredible. Hammamatsu, Shirone, Bali, Malaysia, or across China -- it doesn't matter. The kites are uniquely amazing and the people warm and gracious. But if we have to pick favorites, they would be the ones below.
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Uchinada: Japan
  The Japan Kite Association annual gathering at Uchinada is a kite flying frenzy. Most of the "traditional" festivals here focus on one geographical area and one type of kite. But the JKA festival draws fliers and kites from around the country. Every time we come, we are overwhelmed. Hundreds of huge warriors, kabuki characters, and animals stare down at me from a sky positively littered with breathtaking kites. Noise making "hummers" make the field sound like the deck of an aircraft carrier. People everywhere are dressed in happi coats and traditional costumes. The Japanese are the best hosts in the world. Teams and local clubs set up tents along the edge of the beach and haul out cooking gear, food, beer and sake. Stop to say hello and you'll be offered lunch. Admire a kite too closely and it may be offered to you as well. International guests at the Uchinada festival stay in a traditional Japanese royokan inn with several Japanese friends. The food is exquisite. We sleep on futons in communal rooms, share group (single-sex) baths, and experiment with Asian squat toilets. The experience is a bonding one. The annual May festival seems unbearably short - starting with taiko drums at a formal welcome party, and ending with speeches the next afternoon. Back in Tokyo, we gather at one last Sayonara Party. The title is a misnomer. In Japan, kitefliers don't say "good bye", we say "mata ei mashoe" -- see you again soon! |
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Weifang is hot, dirty, dusty, and smelly. The food tastes bad and you can't drink the water. No one speaks English. So in many ways, it is much like Wildwood, New Jersey...
Naw, we're just kidding. Weifang is wonderful and the festival there is legendary. Imagine flying kites for half-a-million people! Imagine an opening ceremony that concludes with an hour of fireworks! Imagine a kite museum the size of your highschool! It's almost too much to imagine... This event draws participants from around China and the World. It includes Chinese national competitions with an astounding variety of hand-crafted kites. Several dozen international guests also participate. Pageantry is as important as kite flying at these events and Weifang has developed the festival into a major economic development project that attracts visibility and potential investors to the area. During the opening ceremonies, we usually parade into the central stadium "Olympic style", country by country, as over 50,000 spectators cheer. We will then witness enormous floor demonstrations, similar perhaps to half-time shows at our sporting events, except that thousands of students will take part, dressed in colorful costumes. And then there is the fireworks display -- unlike anything you have ever seen. Kite flying is held the following day on a special field several miles outside of the city. As many as 500,000 people come to watch. The Weifang Festival is held each April. It is difficult to get there by yourself, but fortunately, we are planning to lead a tour. For details and prices on the trip click here.. |
Weifang: China
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Bangkok: Thailand    |
Bangkok is hot. It is so hot that we've seen people sit in the shadow of a flagpole, just six inches wide, to find some shade. Every few minutes they need to move and follow the shade as the sun passes overhead. But we'd go to Thailand if it was *twice* as hot. That's how good the festival is... The Thai Kite Heritage Group organizes an international event every two years on the polo field in front of the royal palace. It is no exaggeration to call the view "majestic". Kites from around the world ease up into the gentle currents as the sun glints off golden towers in the background. Teams of fliers are invited from two dozen countries. We take turns resting and flying. If the wind is too light, we hire a taxi to tow us around the field. In the early evening, the Thai fliers come out to compete with their intricate Chula and Pakpao. We wonder why we didn't wait for it to cool off too. But it doesn't matter. We watch from the grandstands, rest, and store up energy for the Bangkok nitelife. |
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