The Martha’s Vineyard Wind Festival dates back to 1967 but one could say it started long before that, when the first kite soared into the skies and the first kid held tightly to a string, until he or she became distracted and the kite string fell loose upon the ground and the kite wandered off, perhaps to the mainland. The errant kite making a break for freedom is a right of passage, after all, like an overflowing ice cream cone tipping over onto a summer sidewalk.
But fear not, these small moments of disappointment. The wind festival delights each September as the winds pick up and everyone heads to Ocean Park with all manner of wind-related flyers — kites, Frisbees, even the occasional Unusual Flying Object.
This year’s festival takes place on Sept. 11, with a rain date of Sept. 12. The event begins at 10:30 a.m. with kite-making clinics and then at noon the flying competitions begin. The awards are many — for kids, for adults, for the largest kite, the smallest kit, the best team effort kite.
And it’s not just what flies in the air that is on display. Model sailboat races are on the agenda as are billions of bubbles, plus music.
The original festival ran for 20 years, from 1967 to 1987 but was then becalmed for over 20 years. No one knows why the wind did not blow, the kites did not soar and the Frisbees lay silent on the grass, nudged mournfully by dogs and hackey-sackers alike.
But in 2011 the festival was revived by Holly Alaimo and Joan Hewson and it continues to this day, calling forth each September that eternal phrase: Look, look up in the sky. It’s the Martha’s Vineyard Wind Festival.
For more information, visit mvwindfestival.com.
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