The first weekend of September 2022 will see the triumphant return of the St Annes International Kite Festival 2022 as the town makes ready for what promises to be another marvellous celebration of craft, skill and family fun.
This three-day event is a partnership between Fylde Council and SmileFactor10, and will see tens of thousands of visitors from all over the United Kingdom as well as kite fliers from New Zealand, Germany, Italy, Ireland and more coming together to fill the skies with colour over the course of the weekend.
Cllr Michael Sayward, Chairman of Fylde Council’s Tourism & Leisure Committee, said: “It’s a great pleasure to be able to welcome the St Annes International Kite Festival back to our award-winning beach. This year’s event promises to be even more dazzling than ever, and I’d like to thank our partners at SmileFactor10 as well as our own officers for their hard work in making it happen. It’s bound to be a brilliant time out for young and old alike.”
The celebrations kick off on Friday 2 September with a Grand Opening at 6:00pm by Cllr Ben Aitken, the Mayor of Fylde, followed by flying of all kinds of kites large and small either side of the St Annes Pier. From dusk, an illuminated kite flying evening will see kites with flashing lights take to the sky, accompanied by floodlit inflatables in the shapes of all manner of creatures, and at 9:30pm you’ll be able to enjoy a spectacular fireworks display.
Across the Saturday (11:00am to 5:00pm) and Sunday (11:00am to 4:00pm), the six arenas will be host to all kinds of kites, with more animal inflatables, artistic kites, and sports kites choreographed to music – bring your own kite to join in or buy a kite at the event and fly it in the public area! Back on the ground, there will be funfair rides on the beach, stalls for refreshments, and plenty of other entertainment.
There’s a wealth of new features for 2022, including:
Art Kite Arena
We’re delighted to introduce to St Annes international kite artist Frances Anderson, who will be our dedicated arena director for single line, sparred kites, art installations, and banners.
Wind Garden
This dedicated arena is for decorative ground art, mobiles, spinners, ladybirds, crabs, and all manner of zany beach bouncers.
Kite Arch & Bols Arena
Come see kite trains that reach far into the sky – kite arches are formed from lines of colourful diamond kites, while bols are large circular wind spinners and turbines, combining to make gorgeous displays.
International Guest Fliers
Malcolm Hubbard flies the biggest kites in the world made on his doorstep in New Zealand; Florian Janich from Germany is one of the world’s leading banner and kite makers, while Ralf Maserski takes kite design to a new level – both will be in the art kite arena; Bernhard Dingwerth from Germany is world-renowned for big, colourful kites to delight and amuse; Kite Ireland will be sending a team of fliers over the water; Caterina Capelli from Italy is the organiser of the world’s leading art kite festivals.
Please note that the event is entirely weather dependent, and the planned programme may be changed without notice for safety reasons. For more information about the event and the facilities, please see the Discover Fylde website.
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