Despite Early Floods, LBI Kite Festival Flies High

SHIP BOTTOM, NJ — Despite flooding throughout the island, the Long Beach Island Fly International Kite Festival soared last weekend. The event featured demonstrations, workshops, kite shows, races and a kite battle.

Children were able to make their own kites in a workshop at the Drifting Sands Hotel. Local participants joined kite fliers from around the United States, Colombia, France, Canada and Germany.

The 2019 LBI FLY was organized by competitive kite flier Lisa Willoughby and sponsored by numerous local businesses, including Kitty Hawk Kites.

"This is one of the top events in the states," John Harris, president of Kitty Hawk Kites, said. "The number of fliers here and to share this with the large amount of people here is truly wonderful."

Brandon Frieder of Maryland grew up in Colonia and has been coming to Ocean City since he was a kid. Frieder said he came to the festival two years ago. He decided it would be a good idea to bring his kids and participate in the event.

Paul Keeler of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, had his Chinese Dragon kite on display. According to Keeler, the kite is 100 feet in length and the head is 12 feet tall, which makes it the biggest kite in his collection.

Keeler started flying kites 30 years ago as a hobby. The kite takes a while to fill up, depending on the wind, according to Keeler, and requires two other kites to lift it up. Keeler has participated in all five years of the kite festival.

Fliers competed in the Mayor's Kite Battle Cup and six contestants were chosen at random to represent six townships. The objective in the battle royal was to ground your opponent, or cut their line, without grounding yourself in the process. The last kite flying was the winner. Beach Haven, represented by Black Sheep Studios, won the 2019 Mayor's Kite Battle Cup.

The weekend got off to a rough start because of coastal flooding in LBI. The festival canceled its Friday events because many of LBI's roads were impassible. Related article: PHOTOS: Long Beach Island During Recent Coastal Flooding

But that didn't prevent the rest of the rest of the weekend from beautiful weather.

"I have never seen anything like this before," said Nick Gill, who visited from Oregon with his son, Tysen. "It's a beautiful day, and the perfect weather for kite flying."

Take any photos or videos during the kite festival? Post them in the comments.

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