Santa Barbara Kite Festival Postponed to Sunday, April 19

Due to the rainy weather expected this Friday-Sunday, The 40th Anniversary Santa  Barbara Kite Festival has been rescheduled to Sunday, April 19, 2026 in the “Great  Meadow” on the West Campus lawn at Santa Barbara City College. 

The “Great Meadow” is located on the West Campus of Santa Barbara City College,  721 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara, Ca 93109. Admission to the festival is free. Parking is  available on both west campus and the main campus. Kites, food, and beverages can  be purchased at the event.  

 Better weather is expected to shine on this year’s theme of “You and Me”. Festival  organizers selected the theme to celebrate the cooperation, love and laughter of flying a  kite together!  

The “Childrens Tail Chase” will generate even more fun and laughter at the new  festival date of April 19th. The tail chases feature groups of kids chasing and capturing the tail of a kite expertly flown by festival’s kite master Rakesh Bahadur. The festival schedule is full with family-friendly kite contests including “Most Beautiful” (handmade  & commercial), “Highest Flying”, “Largest & Smallest Kites”, ”Youngest & Oldest Kite  Flyers”, “Most Unique Or Unusual Kite”, “Funniest Kite”, “Most Unflyable Kite”, “Best  Handmade Kite” (a new category), and “Best of Fest” – recognizing the best overall kite  entry and participant of the day. Finally, 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.

Thanks to a proclamation by the Santa Barbara City Council (2007),  April is officially designated 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 info, visit our website at www.sbkitefest.net, our facebook  page/santabarbarakitefestival, or call 805-637-6202. For info about National Kite Month  go to www.nationalkitemonth.org, and www.kite.org.