BERKELEY, Calif. — On your way to the festival, you observe the plethora of cars, buses, bikes and countless other modes of transportation snaking their way down toward the marina. People visiting with their families, friends and others pour in and out of the festival..
This is free Berkeley Kite Festival, now in its 31st year, which serves as a communal gathering point featuring food, families and dogs.
Alongside the long row of vendors at Cesar Chavez Park stand the booths for the Berkeley Police Department, where officers are directing traffic, passing out stickers and fielding questions.
Maggie Burciha, a San Francisco native, attended the festival for the first time last year and she was back again on opening day in 2018. She said came because of “just how family-friendly it is.” She has two young boys “and we really enjoy kites,” she said.
Although the kite festival showcases kites of all sizes and colors both for fun and for competition, there are also dozens of vendors — selling soaps, trinkets, T-shirts and other clothing (and kites) — and activities for younger children, including a playground full of inflatables, a petting zoo and pony rides.
“We like the vendors,” Burciha said.
Like Burciha, Sandra Braddock arrived with her family in the afternoon. “This is great,” she said. You get to see a lot of different people here, and different kites, too.”
Her son was flying a kite and her daughter was sitting next to her with a blanket wrapped around her while Braddock talked about what a wonderful time they had last year.
“It’s windy,” she said, “but perfect for kites.”