Morro Bay Kite Festival returns after COVID-19 hiatus
The Morro Bay Kite Festival returned on Saturday April 30, 2022, after a two-year hiatus. The festival was started about 16 years ago by local kite shop owner Shaun Farmer.
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About 3,000 people flew their kites against the backdrop of Morro Rock as the Morro Bay Kite Festival returned after a two-year hiatus.
The free, family-friendly event took place on April 30 and May 1 on the beach.
The kite festival has been suspended for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The town of Morro Bay has since handed over the running of the event to festival founder Shaun Farmer, owner of Beachfront Kites, Surreys and More in Morro Bay.
“It was a little scary at first,” Farmer said. “I didn’t know if we could put it all together, but everything fell into place and the weather is perfect. All the people are out to have fun.
After three months of planning around vendors, city permits and more, Farmer said the festival was well worth the stress.
Farmer worked with Southern California American Kitefliers Association President Glen Rothstein, who was making an announcement at the festival, to source professional flyers from as far away as Alaska.
“When I started 16 years ago, a lot of (kite) pilots came and heard about it, and they just spread the word,” said Farmer, who was born and raised in Morro. Bay. “(A man) said it was one of the best beaches for flying kites in California.”
Professional kiters demonstrated their techniques at the Morro Bay festival this weekend. In a popular trick, known as a stunt, the kite swings in and out until it hits the ground, then gains 40 to 50 feet of momentum in the air.
According to its website, the goal of the festival is to bring “all generations together in a safe, relaxing and fun environment to learn and participate in the art of kite flying, Morro Bay.”
“Looking on the beach today, it’s amazing,” Farmer said. “All smiling faces, kids, parents. If you look over there, nobody’s on the phone.
One attendee said the Morro Bay Kite Festival “takes me back to when I was younger, when they had paper kites”.
Don, a Los Osos resident who asked that his last name not be used for privacy reasons, attended the festival from morning until afternoon on Saturday and attended for many years in the past.
Don said he made diamond-shaped kites when he was a kid. Now he has a collection of around 10 or 11 locally purchased kites – and that collection increased on April 30, he said.
Farmer founded the kite festival around 16 years ago alongside Carol Berry, a former member and now trustee of the Central Coast Funds for Children. Another mainstay was the Morro Bay Maritime Museum, Farmer said.
Both groups were there, handing out 500 blank kites for kids to decorate and fly.
“It’s wonderful – it’s so fun to see the smiles on their faces and you know, happy people,” Berry said, tying a string to one of the kites. “And it’s a beautiful day.”
The festival included candy drops for children. Organizers lifted a kite full of candy into the air, and as the treats fell, the children scooped up as many as they could while Bow Wow Wow’s “I Want Candy” played speakers around the range.
A family came over from Orcutt to “do something as a family and it seemed really cool,” said mom Hayley, who wouldn’t give her last name.
Hayley said the family hardly ever flies a kite, but on May 1 her 2-year-old daughter made her debut.
Farmer said people should spend more time with their children outdoors.
“Go out and enjoy life,” Farmer said. “And I’m not saying that meanly, but go fly a kite.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2022 2:05 p.m.