Long Beach Kite Festival The Hindu festival of Basant Panchami, also known as Basanta, is observed on the first day of spring each year, celebrating the renewal of life following the winter months. One of the features of the festival is the ancient art of kite flying, and in Bangladesh, as elsewhere in Asia, the annual Kite Flying Festival has crossed the boundaries of religion to become a secular event enjoyed by all. The tradition continues today on the rooftops and fields of Old Dhaka, called Shakrain. Starting in mid-January, and continuing through to mid-February, the clear blue skies become dotted with high-flying kites in all shapes, sizes and colors. While the traditional way would be to hand-craft a kite from scratch, stores sell ready-made kites and various kite exhibitions in Bangladesh encourage this age-old form of entertainment enjoyed by kite-flyers and spectators alike.
Every year the Pacific International Kite Club continues to inculcate that tradition among the Bengali immigrant community of Long Beach and greater Los Angeles. It started off small as a Bengali community event to encourage the young ones to enjoy a nice summer family day by the beach with the healthy and fulfilling art of kite flying.
The event, I’m happy to report has grown over the years and many civic organizations have started to join with the Bengali community to make the event much broader. The practice of kite flying in Bangladesh is more nuanced and interactive, unlike kite flying in the Western world where it is a solitary sport. The Bengali tradition involves cutting each other’s strings until the last person’s kite is still flying in the air. Long Beach Kite Festival includes teaching the skills of this unique sport to the uninitiated. We welcome all to come to Granada Beach, Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach and enjoy a fun day by the beach.