The Santa Barbara Kite Festival is a family-friendly annual kite festival held every April in the Great Meadow lawn on the west campus of Santa Barbara City College. Festival creator and Kite Master Rakesh Bahadur’s family opened the first commercial kite store in America in the 1970s. Rakesh and Festival Director David Hefferman present the festival each year to the community as a “labor of love”. They have enjoyed kite flying with generations of families from far and near over the years. “We’ve seen families literally grow up at the festival, and then return with their own new families each year.
Kite Flying Quips & Quotes
Don’t worry about the weather, you don’t need a windy day to fly a kite!
Rakesh Bahadur
Kite flying is truly a cooperative endeavor, inviting each person to work and play together to succeed.
David Hefferman
Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.
Dr. Seuss
The Santa Barbara Kite Festival 