The 2024 Santa Barbara Kite Festival returns Sunday, April 21  to the Great Meadow on the West Campus lawn at Santa Barbara City College, 721 Cliff Drive.

The festival is free to attend. Parking is available on both West Campus and the Main Campus. Kites, food and beverages can be purchased at the event.

Kites of all shapes and colors fill the sky above Santa Barbara City College during last year's Kite Festival.
Kites of all shapes and colors fill the sky above Santa Barbara City College during last year’s Kite Festival. Credit: Julia Vaughan / Noozhawk photo

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.

This year’s festival welcomes a new awards and prize sponsor – Stearns Wharf.

The festival schedule features family-friendly kite contests, including the Childrens Tail Chase (at the top and bottom of each hour), Most Beautiful (handmade and commercial). Highest Flying, Largest & Smallest Kites, Youngest & Oldest Kite Flyers, Most Unique or Unusual Kite, Funniest Kite, Most Unflyable Kite, Best Handmade Kite (new category), and Best of Fest, recognizing the best overall kite entry and participant of the day.

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.

A 2007 proclamation by the Santa Barbara City Council officially designated April 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, visit www.sbkitefest.net, call 805-637-6202. For more about National Kite Month, visit www.nationalkitemonth.org, and www.kite.org.