Festival del Viento y las Cometas – The Colombian Kite Festival
August is known to bring windy days to Colombia, making it the best time for flying kites. The El Festival de Viento y Cometas (Wind and Kite Festival) is celebrated in Villa de Leyva, a small colonial town located in the centre of Colombia. It has been happening for more than four decades, and provides a platform to share the love for kites, present new fantastic designs and enjoy a fun activity with family and friends. The central square of Villa de Leyva lights up every year during the second week of August and attracts thousands of spectators, kite artists and kite lovers.
Beautiful kites decorate the sky during a whole week, and different events take place including kite exhibitions, competitions and open events for the public to participate in. The competitions are based on different criteria, such as the kite designs or size and shapes of the kites (delta, acrobatic, tri-dimensional) flown by the different groups, including professionals, amateurs and children. Kites are presented to the crowd and a group of judges, while the public gets to enjoy amazing and colourful creations, the judges assess the kites and select winners per category. The celebration is accompanied by games, delicious food and lots of fun!
Kite flying is a global hobby enjoyed by children and adults all around the world. Festivals take place globally for kite flying enthusiasts and the public to enjoy and we can all learn a lot from the art of kite flying!
Activities to do with students
Kite flying has a long history. There are different theories on how kite flying started and on kite folklore in different countries. Find out more about kites in Chinese folklore here:
Kite design varies incredibly and people get very creative designing kites. They must consider the mechanics of the kite actually flying with the design they want to achieve – which isn’t easy! Check out these cool kite designs and identify your favourite design.
Which type of tasks do you think a kite flyer might need to do? Which skills might they need to build, maintain and fly a kite? Watch 1.30-3.10 to see what the kite flyers at the Surabaya International Kite Festival do to make sure their kites are in top condition!
So by now, you’re probably wondering, how do kites actually fly? Well, it’s complicated and Science can teach us a lot. Learn some of the basic Science principles of kite flying in the video below (Grade 3 upwards):
Time to make a kite! Watch and follow the instructions in the video below:
And while you are making that kite, why not sing along to the Kite Flying Song? (Prep-Year4)
We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about kites and how they are part of many communities’ hobbies and interests globally! Let’s go fly a kite!
Global Learning Activity Cards – Hispanic Culture
Explore a range of additional activities linked to Hispanic culture with our ever-growing range of fun, cross curricular activities for all ages, from Prep to High School. From cooking, to arts, to making Maracas for music, there are activities for everyone!
