The 2024 Santa Barbara Kite Festival

The 2024 Santa Barbara Kite Festival returns this Sunday, April 21st  to the “Great Meadow” on the West Campus lawn at Santa Barbara City College.

The “Great Meadow” is located on the West Campus of Santa Barbara City College, 721 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara, Ca 93109. Admission to the festival is free. Parking is available on both west campus and the main campus. Kites, food, and beverages can be purchased at the event.

This year’s festival welcomes a new awards & prize sponsor – Stearns Wharf, our Santa Barbara waterfront neighbor just a short stroll from west campus. The wharf’s wonderful array of shops, restaurants, the Sea Center, and incredible views are a must see (and shop!).

The theme for 2024 is “Love is a Breeze!”. Festival organizers selected the theme to celebrate the love, laughter, and togetherness of families and friends at the yearly event.

The festival schedule is full of family-friendly kite contests including the “Childrens Tail Chase (at the top and bottom of each hour), “Most Beautiful” (handmade & commercial), “Highest Flying”, “Largest & Smallest Kites”, ”Youngest & Oldest Kite Flyers”, “Most Unique Or Unusual Kite”, “Funniest Kite”, “Most Unflyable Kite”, “Best Handmade Kite” (a new category), and “Best of Fest” – recognizing the best overall kite entry and participant of the day. Finally, festival organizers will select this year’s winner of the “Lion Award”- created in the memory of local legend Chad Dreier and presented by the Dreier family.

Thanks to a 2007 proclamation by the Santa Barbara City Council, April is officially designated as “Kite Month” in Santa Barbara, The Santa Barbara Kite Festival has also been recognized by the city for its annual contributions to community recreation and family fun.  Santa Barbara’s kite month of April is promoted in coordination with the National Kite Month of April – co-founded by the American Kite Flyers Association and the Kite Trade Association International .

For more info, visit our website at www.sbkitefest.net, our facebook page/santabarbarakitefestival, or call 805-637-6202. For info about National Kite Month go to www.nationalkitemonth.org, and www.kite.org.