High-flying kite festival is coming back to Morro Bay after 2-year hiatus

Morro Bay Kite Festival organizers are hoping for nice, brisk breezes this weekend.

The high-flying festival returns to the beach just north of Morro Rock on Saturday and Sunday after a coronavirus-related hiatus.

The free annual event was put on hold for a couple of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the city has handed management of the event back to festival founder Shaun Farmer, owner of Beachfront Kites, Surreys and More in Morro Bay.

According to its website, the Kite Festival aims to “bring all individuals, families, and all generations together in a safe, relaxing and fun environment to learn and participate in the art of kite flying, Morro Bay style. Our breathtaking surroundings and windy location is perfect for this type of gathering on the Central Coast.”

Farmer said team kite fliers and at least eight adept fliers have already signed up to demonstrate their techniques during the festival.

“A lot of others will just show up,” he said. “We’ll have a lot of support from local kiters.”

According to the festival’s website, organizers “have been told by professional kite fliers that we have some of the best kite flying wind in the world,” providing the oomph that sends kites diving, darting and soaring.

On Saturday, nonprofit organization Central Coast Funds for Children will again give away 500 free kites so kids can decorate and fly them.

“It’s a great group of women” doing something nice for the youngsters, he said.

The giveaway begins at 10 a.m. Saturday and goes until volunteers run out of kites.

Several large kites will be flying all day both days, and there will be candy drops for the kids at 1 and 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Admission to the Morro Bay Kite Festival is free, as is parking.

The closest parking area is at the Morro Rock parking lot. Participants can also park at the lot north of the U.S. Coast Guard station, by the Morro Bay Maritime Museum and along the Embarcadero.

For more information, visit www.morrobaykitefestival.org.

Kathe Tanner

The Tribune

805-781-7904 (voicemails only)

Kathe Tanner has been writing about the people and places of SLO County’s North Coast since 1981, first as a columnist and then also as a reporter. Her career has included stints as a bakery owner, public relations director, radio host, trail guide and jewelry designer. She has been a resident of Cambria for more than four decades, and if it’s happening in town, Kathe knows about it.