Due to rainy weather expected this weekend, 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.
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The 2026 Santa Barbara Kite Festival 