Kites Festival at the Hudson River Museum

Las cometas.  Der Drachen.  Vlieger.  Cerf-volant.  Tako.  El barrilete.  Vlieers.  Latawiec.  Feng zheng.  All of these are words for kite from around the world.  When we think of kites, we may think of open spaces, or beaches, or the ending from the movie Mary Poppins, but many cultures have a connection to kites and their own festivals and ways of celebrating with them. 

On April 21, The Hudson River Museum is hosting a Kite Festival.  The Museum is coming together with local community organizations the Nepperhan Community Center, Greyston Foundation, Groundworks Hudson Valley, the Yonkers YMCA s and Hispanic and African American community organizations in Yonkers to promote this event. These organizations will be assisting as judges in our all day kite contest, providing food, and music, bringing together artists, families, and community members through kites.  The festival will also have its own Emcee for the day, Kevin McGill from the Yonkers YMCA. Still other organizations and individual community members such as Mexican Folk Artist Zafiro Romero Acevedo are contributing craft tables focused on kite crafts and activities.  Many are also Earth Day themed and environmentally conscious  (one craft involves making kites out of recycled materials).   

The Kite Festival begins at noon with the Nepperhan Community Center's Gateway Achievers, ages 6 - 19 years old flying kites they made with artist Miguel Luciano on April 14th.  While they are flying, the Nepperhan Youth Corps Band will play.  From 1 to 4 pm, artist Wennie Huang leads a craft workshop making cellular, parafoil or paper kites.  At 1 and 2 pm, Naturalist Paul Keim takes visitors on a Walk in Trevor Park, the public park space right outside the Museums front doors, to see local flowers, plants, birds and insects.  The Cookery in Dobbs Ferry will be providing food for the afternoon with pizzas available for purchase from their food truck. 

One of the major events of the day, the Kite Contest, will have three events.  First, at 1:30 and 2:30 pm is a Highest Angle Kite Contest.  Contestants, either youth or adult, will have 200 feet of string and stand on a designated line.  The kite with the highest angle from this point wins.  Another contest is the 50 yard dash, for kids between 7 and 12.  At 2 and 4 pm contestants will race to the finish while flying their kites.  The final contest, at 4:30 pm, will be for the Most Unusual Kite.  Again for youth and adult participants, entries will be judged on theme, construction and design.  All winners will receive certificates from the Hudson River Museum as a prize.  To cap off the day, the Hudson River Museum will raffle off a family membership to the Museum.