CALLAWAY— A sky full of color, creativity, and community spirit will return this Labor Day weekend as the 34th Annual Callaway Kite Flight takes to Foster Smith Field. Saturday and Sunday’s events will take place four miles east of Callaway on Highway 40 from 10 AM to 4 PM each day.
Organizer Kindle Rice said what makes the weekend so special is the people who make the kites soar.
“It’s just such a great community of flyers who come and put the show on for free. A lot of these flyers get paid to go places and they come here and they do this for free just because they love the people and they love the atmosphere. A lot of these kites that they bring are handmade kites either by themselves or they purchase them from all over the world. It’s just incredible to watch something that was once just a piece of cloth transform into these magnificent kites that we see every year,” said Rice.
Along with kites in the air, families can enjoy a full schedule of activities. Highlights include a watermelon feed both days at 1 PM, barrel train rides, face painting and balloon art, and food vendors. Saturday evening will feature the American Legion Scholarship Fund Catfish Fry at Sand Creek Bar, followed by the Night Flight at 10 PM.
Sunday brings additional attractions, including a dunk tank from 11 AM to 3 PM where locals can take their best shot at dunking community figures, as well as “No Excuse Bull Riding” at the Seven Valleys Rodeo Grounds that evening.
Rice encouraged visitors to not only enjoy the kites from afar but also to meet the flyers up close.
“They live and breathe kites, and they love talking about them,” said Rice. “Walk down the line and see these things up close because you really don’t even get the depth of what you’re looking at unless you get down there and see these kites, these massive, beautiful kites that these guys are putting up in the air and how much work it takes to do it.”
Admission to the kite flight is $5 for adults, $3 for kids, or $25 for a family.
