Kites Away set for May 11
May 4—Kites Away will take to the sky on Saturday, May 11 at Berea Parks and Recreation.
The event that dates back to 2014 when Susan Garza, a Chicago, Illinois, native dreamed of a kite flying community event. It's happened at every opportunity since then.
Back in 2014, Garza told the Register the community really got behind her idea in a very short time. In February, she was flying kites with friends when she became inspired to start the festival. She took her idea to Mayor Steve Connelly who told her to speak with Berea Parks and Recreation, and soon Berea Tourism also was involved.
Shortly after, the Berea Chamber of Commerce funded several signs to promote the new festival and the Madison County Public Library hosted a kite-making class ahead of the festival.
Between 150 to 200 kite flyers of all ages looked toward the sky as they attempted to launch their kites on sporadic wind gusts that April day. Some used teamwork to get their kites in the air, with one person holding the reel and another holding the kite. Others simply ran as fast as they could, their kite trailing behind until it caught the wind.
Ten years after the initial event, it's still going strong.
